Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Strike at Southern: Reuters reports that "1,500 workers at Southern Peru Copper Corp are set to begin an indefinite strike for higher pay at midnight on Monday that could paralyze production," according to Clemente Trujillo, a union official at the company's Toquepala mine. NOTE: "The two sides are scheduled to have talks at the Labor Ministry in Lima on Tuesday at 10 a.m." ALSO: "A walk-out by the 1,500 workers at Peru's Toquepala and Cuajone copper mines would halt copper production, as the miners make up 85% of operating staff, [according to] Elmer Gallegos, secretary general of the Cuajone mines. The strike threat jolted copper markets, lifting COMEX copper futures in New York on Thursday and Friday." ALSO: "Workers had previously said the strike was also in protest at a proposal to merge Southern Peru with Minera Mexico, another unit of Grupo Mexico, but Trujillo said that demand had been dropped because the company had said it would not mean job cuts if it went ahead."
Las Bambas Auction: Reuters reports on the nine top copper companies lined up "to bid for the vast Las Bambas deposit in Peru -- long touted as one of the greatest of all projects in this mineral-rich nation -- but locals vowed protests. The sale of the Las Bambas copper project -- at a site discovered in 1911 high in the Andes southeast of Lima and expected to need investment of at least $1.5 billion -- was delayed from June amid a controversy over a royalty charge on mining operations." Although 14 companies had originally prequalified for the sale, SNMPE President Jose Miguel Morales said only Swiss-based Xstrata Plc, Australia's BHP Billiton, Phelps Dodge of the United States, Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale do Rio Doce "had accredited representatives for the auction as of Friday." NOTE: "Some 600 peasants have ridden across the Andes to Abancay, capital of the Apurimac department where Las Bambas is located, to protest the sale along with 90 local leaders, according to Juan Amache, head of a local citizen's group." CITED: CONACAMI, a lobby group protesting the impact of mining.
New Budget Numbers: Reuters reports that Peru's government "would submit to Congress a 2005 budget worth 49.387 billion soles (US$14.2 billion) slightly above forecasts and a jump from last year," according to Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero. ALSO: "The Economy Ministry said in a statement the budget was 12% higher than the original budget plan for 2004. The 2004 budget rose to 45.563 billion soles after the government hiked the sales tax and introduced a banking transaction tax."
Peruvian Wood To China: TimberWeb cites a new report on Peru's exports that shows "China is now a major market for Peruvian timber."
Montanans in Peru: Montana's Billings Gazette reports on seven college students who travelled to Peru through ProPeru, a service corps operating under the auspices of its parent organization, ProWorld. The organization's mission is to provide cross-cultural experiences by blending service, community development and academic study." NOTE: "What the students earned in perspective, the Peruvians gained in sweat labor. The Rocky group spent much of its time involved in projects that would better the region around Urubamba, a mountain village not far from Cuzco. ... One of their assignments was to build a greenhouse - vivero - to nurture native saplings. The vivero was constructed next to the village's small hospital."
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