Response from Minera Yanacocha regarding allegations of water pollution in Cajamarca, Peru
12 October 2011
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Minera Yanacocha to respond to the following items:
- Confirmado: Río Grande recibe agua tratada y Cajamarca la consume, Servicio Informativo Grufides, 13 septiembre 2011:
- Video de aguas bombeadas residuales al Río Grande, 11 septiembre 2011:
Minera Yanacocha sent the following response to the Resource Centre:
We address to you regarding its requirement of information about the water management we perform in and out of our operations and as a respond to a series of comments about the water discharges we perform into the environment.
Please, allow us, firstly to tell you that all information you may require it is found updated in our web page: Transparency is one of main concerns and; therefore, by these virtual tools, we look for inform, openly and timely to anyone who wishes to know more about our operations.
Likewise, and about the specific issued, please allow us to inform you that the water delivery point towards Rio Grande (DCP3) as part of the instruments of environmental management of the Environmental Impact Assessment of La Quinua, was approved firstly by the competent authorities and in conjunction with, among others, the regional and local authorities as from 2001.
Besides, we inform you that Yanacocha holds an authorization of the National Water Authority to deliver water from the above-mentioned point, which is known by the Local Water Authority, inhabitants of surrounding areas among others.
Yanacocha, besides monitoring the quality and quantity of water within the internal operations with state-of-the-art technology, takes part in participative monitoring performed by the water competent institutions along with the population. The said monitoring shows the Rio Grande waters are in good quality to be used (irrigation, to be give to the animals and its purification after treatment).
This information was explained timely by a communication released in the local media. To have access to the full text, enter into the following link:
Likewise, we attach to this communication the said communicate in English version to pass it along. [see next item on Resource Centre’s website]
Regarding the water quality and quantity care in Yanacocha, we invite you to access the following address, which shall open a brochure explaining in detail our company’s water management:
We would like to restate the invitation to contact us any time you may consider as necessary so that we can help you with any doubt or inquires regarding our activities.