An interesting initiative from the Global Indigenous Trust has brought ten delegates from six communities in the Cusco region of Peru to the city of Timmins in Canada to visit the city and the mine owned there by the Canadian company Goldcorp. The delegates come from communities affected by the Canadian firm Hudbay’s operations in the Cusco region. Hudbay Minerals took over the Constancia mine in Cuzco in 2011 and is developing other claims in the region.

The Trust is a Canadian not-for-profit, founded and led by a group of Canadian indigenous leaders keen to support communities world-wide struggling to achieve sustainable development.

Both Hudbay and Goldcorp have had a history of conflict in their relations with communities in Guatemala.

Hudbay faced discontent in Cuzco last year over what the communities saw as its failure to fulfil commitments.

The initiative got going thanks to the Timmins Economic Development Corporation, which is hosting the visit. The Corporation responded to an appeal from the Global Indigenous Trust for an opportunity to experiment with best practice in how to develop dialogue. This is the second such visit to the city, and the plan is to bring two groups a year from Cuzco over the next five years.

The current group comprises representatives of women’s associations, student groups and village elders. The Trust’s strategy is that if communities can experience first-hand how co-existence can benefit all sides this should open the way to constructive dialogue.

The visiting group was given ample time to ask questions and express their concerns. The mayor of Timmins met them, and expressed frankly his views on how continual tensions need to be managed:
“There’s always a feeling from the general population that the mining companies should be doing more; there’s a feeling from the mining companies that they are contributing to the community and paying their fair share through taxes. Then there’s the municipality’s standpoint, where we have been very happy with some of the partnerships, but then we look at what the provincial government collects from mining revenue versus what trickles back down to the community. All three parties are never perfectly happy, but you work together as best you can to come to a mutually beneficial agreement.”
http://www.timminspress.com/2015/11/30/co-existence-with-mines-impresses-peruvian-delegates

This experiment in community relations will be worth following and evaluating as it develops.