Throughout the world, open-pit and other high-tech mining technologies are producing chemical waste that contaminates water supplies, degrades the natural environment, and destroys the possibility of farming and fishing for a living. Deforestation and the use of dynamite obliterate old growth forests and the ecosystems they support and ultimately undermine the means of subsistence and community life for indigenous and other rural communities.
On Sunday, July 22, Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining, the Denver Justice and Peace Committee (DJPC) joins with others around the world in opposing the devastating social and environmental impacts of open pit mining.
- We support those living near open-pit mines who have suffered from air and water pollution;
- We support those who have been threatened with violence, arrest, and even death for protesting against the practice of open-pit mining in their communities;
- We call for an end to the practice of open-pit mining by Newmont Mining in Peru, which has operated the Yanacocha Mine in Cajamarca, Peru, the largest mine in South America, for the past two decades;
- We stand with Máxima Acuña de Chaupe, winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2016, and the people of her community in Celendín, Peru, in protesting the contamination of the water supply and destruction of whole lakes in the region;
- We stand with those who have endured high rates of cancer and other health problems, crop damage, and the death of their livestock.
- We stand with those who have been displaced from their land because farming and fishing in their communities are no longer possible due to the practice of open-pit mining.
The DJPC will continue to demand an end to the proposed expansion of the Yanacocha Conga Mine and to all open pit and other environmentally hazardous mining practices.
No to mines! Yes to life! No a las minas! Sí a la vida!
