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Peru- Yanacocha, Choropampa & FEROCAFENOP

Project	The Yanacocha gold mine began operations in the department of Cajamarca, Peru in 1993. The company is a consortium of three shareholders: Newmont Mining Corporation of Denver, Colorado which holds 51.35% of shares, Companía de Minas Buenaventura S.A. of Peru with 43.65% and the IFC with 5%. A branch of Newmont’s Peruvian subsidiary, Newmont Peru Limited, is the contracted managing entity of Yanacocha. Yanacocha was conceived as relatively short-life mine, projected to operate for 10 years. Due to tremendous exploration successes, however, the company has continued operations. The largest gold mine in Latin America, Yanacocha is comprised of six open pit mines, four leach pads and three processing facilities. The mine property covers a total land area in excess of 30,000 hectares (607 square miles, or 1,572 square kilometers) and lies within four major watersheds spanning the continental divide.

IFC Interest	IFC is a five percent equity investor in the Minera Yanacocha, S.A. project, a gold-mining venture.

Environmental and Social Context	In June 2000, a contractor of Minera Yanacocha spilled 151kg of elemental mercury along a 41km stretch of road between the mine site and Lima near the town of Choropampa. Some people collected the mercury and experienced adverse health effects. In July 2000, the CAO oversaw an independent investigation of the mercury spill (see report link below). A group of residents living near the spill later filed suit against the company, and the cases as of August 2006 were stil pending in Peruvian and US courts. Closer to the mine site, conflicts also arose. Local residents from communities bordering the mine and from the city of Cajamarca (48 km from the mine site) expressed a number of concerns, including adverse social and environmental impacts, failure to adequately consult affected people and failure to distribute mining benefits in an equitable manner. Community–mine conflicts intensified after the mercury spill.

CAO Action	The CAO assessed the complaints in July 2001. Recognizing the widespread local demand for a comprehensive approach to resolving community-mine conflicts, the CAO convened a dialogue roundtable in September 2001. The Mesa de Dialogo y Consenso functioned for over four years with over 50 public and private institutions participating. The Mesa’s main objectives were to address and resolve conflicts between the community of Cajamarca and the mine and promote transparency and dialogue among its members. To this end, the Mesa oversaw a series of mediation training workshops in 2002, an independent and participatory study of water quality and quantity in the region in 2002-2003, and independent and participatory water quality monitoring during 2004 and 2005 (below are links to these studies). It also participated in an aquatic life study in 2005 and 2006. In February 2005 the CAO commissioned an independent evaluation of the Mesa's outcomes and effectiveness, which was made public in May 2005 and is available below.

Current Status	The CAO concluded its phased withdrawal from the Mesa in March 2006, and both the Mesa and the monitoring work have concluded. CAO's March 2006 Exit Report is available below. The CAO is in the process of synthesizing a series of reports on the history, challenges, and lessons learned from its intervention in Cajamarca.

Received

Appraisal

Assessment

Conciliation, Mediation, Settlement, Monitoring & Follow Up

5 days

15 days

30-90 days

Acknowledged
January 2001 (Choropampa)and March 2001 (FEROCAFENOP)

Accepted
February and April 2001

Began in July 2001

Mesa de Dialogo y Consenso
Closed March 2006