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Photo: Shanta Martin/OxfamAUS
fast facts
- Resource: Copper
- Mine location: Espinar province, Peru
- Mine owner/operator: Xstrata Copper
- Affected communities: Tintaya Marquiri, Huisa, Alto Huarca, Alto Huancane, Huano Huano, Bajo Huancane, the Yauri township
Tintaya, Peru
The situation
In the 1980s, the Peruvian Government expropriated more than 2,000 hectares of land to develop the Tintaya open-pit copper mine in the high Andes region, displacing hundreds of people. The mine was subsequently privatised and acquired by Magma Copper and then BHP Billiton which sold the mine in 2006 to its current owners, global mining group Xstrata.
People affected by this mine allege that the government failed to adequately compensate them for their land or gain their informed consent, with some reporting that they were forcibly evicted and threatened with violence by mine security. Others have reported that water and air pollution from the mine and tailings dam has caused the death or illness of their animals, as well as affecting their own health, and loss of traditional livelihoods due to loss of land to the mine. Some of these problems continued after the sale of the mine to BHP Billiton and then Xstrata.
Current grievances include the slow rate at which human rights abuses are investigated; disputes over the reallocation of land and quality of infrastructure and basic services available on this land; and concerns relating to water quality and quantity in areas close to the mine.
Oxfam's response
Oxfam became involved in this case at the request of CONACAMI – a local community support organisation – in early 2000. Oxfam helped to set up what is known as the Mesa de Diàlogo (Dialogue Roundtable) where representatives from local communities, non-government organisations and the company can address issues raised by the community.
Sub-groups have been established under the Dialogue Roundtable to focus on specific issues relating to land, sustainable development, human rights abuses and environment.
The Dialogue Roundtable process has been a mostly successful way of bringing together all the parties and has resolved many of the communities' grievances. Despite concerns about the speed of implementation, community members report that the Dialogue Roundtable has improved their situation.
Many lessons have been learnt which may be useful for other communities wanting to establish a similar process. For the communities and the company, the Dialogue Roundtable was challenging at first partly because of the need for each group to understand the culture of the other. Establishing trust has been critical – a key part of this has been ensuring that promises made as part of the negotiating process are kept. Building consensus has also proved to be important and in this case mirrors traditional community decision making processes. By taking time to reach decisions this way ensures all parties 'own' the resolutions leading to the creation of stable and durable agreements.
Oxfam continues to monitor the Dialogue Table process and how it addresses community grievances.
Find out more
- Read our 2003 case summary in English (PDF 443KB) or Espanol (PDF 35KB)
- Read our 2005 case updates (PDF 1.9MB)