It was attended by representatives of the government, companies and mining communities, with a total of more than 500 attendees.
The Chamber of Mines of Peru and the Congress of the Republic successfully organized the III Pending Agenda of the Mining Sector. This event, organized by our institution, gathered more than 500 people who filled the Raul Porras Barrenechea, Miguel Grau and Gustavo Mohme halls of the Congress of the Republic.
In this way, the Chamber of Mines of Peru continues with the consolidation of its specific objective. That of contributing to improve relations between mining companies, communities and the State: to promote responsible extractive activity.
This important event served to analyze the role played by the State and the opening of investments in the current mining scenario. As well as to evaluate the mining activity and community relations, the experiences and perspectives of sustainable development and finally, the legal aspects as well as the role of the media and training institutions.
Eng. Cesar Gallardo Vela, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Mines of Peru, welcomed the audience; «The realization of this III Pending Agenda of the Mining Sector is a confirmation of the constant commitment of the Chamber of Mines of Peru to contribute to improve the management of those factors that condition the optimal development of extractive projects. There is a lot of work to do, however, I am confident and convinced that we are working to lay the foundations for a new mining industry that will be beneficial for all Peruvians».
This «new mining for everyone» seeks to integrate those who are related to the mining sector. In order to work for the development of an extractive activity with social and environmental responsibility and contribute to the formation of the Peru we all want.
The importance and relevance of this event was demonstrated by the participation of national political figures, such as Mr. Luis Iberico Nuñez, President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru. When he spoke, he recognized the importance of mining for Peru and the need to integrate this activity with the social environment; «Mining activity has never been alien to problems of various kinds, as economic, social and political. That is why today we are looking for mining under the premise that no extractive project will be successful, applying models with environmental damage, as was done in the past», he said.
Mr. Iberico Nuñez also took the opportunity to greet the members of the Chamber of Mines of Peru for organizing the event. He also highlighted the large response from the public: «I congratulate the Chamber of Mines for carrying out this Congress, which is of absolute importance, due to the undeniable contribution of mining in the economic and social development of Peru. Likewise, I consider that the current moment the sector is going through makes this topic of vital importance. As an example of this, it is enough to mention that this hall (Raul Porras Barrenechea) of the Congress has been full and it has been necessary to open two more rooms. This leads us to assure that this event will be totally successful, and it will be full of experiences, ideas, approaches and visions for the future.
The thematic structure of the event was divided into four parts, each with specialized presentations. The first part was entitled: «Current Issues, Role of the State and Opening of Investments» presented by political authorities as Eng. Marcos Villegas Aguilar, General Director of Mining at the Ministry of Energy and Mines; and Mr. Mariano Castro Sanchez Moreno, Vice-Minister of Environmental Management. The third presentation was given by MBA. Oscar Calero Revolledo, Director of Mining Projects of the Chamber of Mines of Peru.
One of the aspects that has most conditioned the development of mining has been the increase in socio-environmental conflicts between extractive organizations and peasant communities. For this reason, the second part of the congress was entitled: «Mining Activity and Community Relations». This part was attended by regional authorities such as Mr. Alfredo Zegarra Tejada, Mayor of the Province of Arequipa; Mr. Eloy Berrio Chumbislla, President of the Central Association of the District of Challhuahuacho (Apurimac); and Mr. Marco Gallardo, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Cajamarca.
The third part was entitled «Experiences and Perspectives of Sustainable Development». The speakers made their presentations aimed at promoting the development of programs for the consolidation of a mining industry of the future. This third part was in charge of the outstanding professionals of the Board of Directors and Advisory Council of the Chamber of Mines of Peru, among which we can mention the participation of Mr. Churchill Vela Velasquez, Director of Projects in Geology; Mg. Guillermo Casafranca Garcia, Director of Projects in Environment and CSR; and finally, PhD. Jose Luis Salazar Navarrete, Director of Projects in Metallurgy.
The last part of this event was for the presentation of those topics that encompass: «Legal Acts, Media and Training Institutions». The four presentations were focused on the legislative aspects present in the mining processes; and the role that training institutions play in improving the level of specialization of professionals, technicians and operating personnel.
Within this group, the presence of Mrs. Xennia Forno, Mining and Environmental Law Expert at Rubio Normand Leguía Law Firm; political analysis journalist, Cesar Campos Rodriguez; Mr. Carlos Hernandez Condori, Training and Education Advisor of the Chamber of Mines of Peru and Eng. Guido del Castillo Echegaray, Executive President of Aruntani Mining Company, stood out.
In his presentation he also referred to mining in Madre de Dios, indicating that there are several factors that are endangering the development of mining activity in that region. First of all, he referred to the geology, since an analysis of the gold deposits ended up indicating that they were of low grade and were not profitable. Another aspect is that the interdiction campaigns carried out and the controls established have caused a decrease in gold production levels. The third factor that has harmed mining activity is deforestation, which has caused the loss of the Amazon rainforests. Finally, he referred to the use of mercury and the legal aspect, indicating that it is important to formulate regulations that normalize and facilitate the development of mining activity.
