As regards the latest events occurred around our operation, Minera Las Bambas wants to clarify the following aspects:
1. We acknowledge the efforts of the government authorities to seek a solution through dialogue and we ratify our full willingness to contribute to that, for the sake of the development of Apurímac region and Peru. We also highlight the open-to-dialogue attitude of several community members.
2. The blockade of national public road PE-3SY in Yavi Yavi (Cusco) and of our access gates to the mine is preventing our more than 8,000 employees from entering and exiting the operation. This affects their fundamental rights and creates concern among them and their families. Las Bambas has been adopting actions to protect their safety.
3. The continuity of the blockade is also preventing the arrival of supplies and the transport of ore. This will lead to the stoppage of our production over the next days, and will cause serious damages to the local and national economy. Since 2016, Las Bambas has paid more than S/ 750 million in royalties, which have benefitted 84 municipalities and two universities in Apurímac, and the Apurímac Regional Government.
4. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has confirmed that the blocked road existed since 2008 as a minor public road. It existed when the company transferred the property to Fuerabamba Farming Community (FC) in 2011 as part of the compensations. As is the case with any other public road, the law states that it may be freely used by anyone. Its subsequent reclassification as regional and national road was in response to the requests made by district, provincial and regional authorities, as stated in public documents.
5. The negotiation of the resettlement process started in 2008 and the agreement became formal in 2011, with Fuerabamba FC’s active and permanent participation, following a difficult dialogue process carried out with an intercultural approach. Yavi Yavi was one of the properties transferred for agricultural purposes. Their houses were also built in the Nueva Fuerabamba development, Apurímac region, meeting the requests of the community.
6. The Las Bambas and Antapaccay mining projects were originally part of one business group. The ore from Las Bambas was going to be processed at Antapaccay, and both operations were going to be linked by a slurry pipeline. The change in the ore transport process was a technical requirement for the separation of both projects. This was carried out through an amendment to the Environmental Impact Study that complied with all the legal processes. This amendment was performed before Glencore sold Las Bambas to the joint venture led by MMG.
7. The requests that Las Bambas has received from Fuerabamba FC’s new representatives and legal counsels, such as the payment for using a public road, are economic compensations that do not conform to the law. They have also rejected in many opportunities the offers made by the company to contribute more development projects.
Las Bambas strongly condemns the use of violence and is willing to engage in dialogue, in order to achieve a prompt solution to this situation that prevents the stoppage of the operation, as this would cause serious damages to the economy of Apurímac region and Peru.
Lima, 29 March 2019