Resettlement and Land Use

Mining activities require land, which sometimes competes with land used for livelihoods, households and communities. In every region where we wish to mine, we explore alternatives to minimize disturbances and implement measures to protect human rights and cultural heritage. If there is no other alternative but resettlement, we work with affected households and communities to address their interests and improve their quality of life.

Resettlement – When it became clear that the development of Constancia would require the displacement of 36 families from Chilloroya, we established a resettlement negotiation process that adhered to international standards for fairness and transparency (including the IFC performance standards), and committed to providing equal or better housing with improvements like better access to water and roads. The guiding principle for the process was collaboration – with community leaders and government authorities as well as affected individuals.

We acquired replacement land sufficient to enable all the affected families to continue their ranching activities as neighbours on individual parcels, and built two large water reservoirs and other infrastructure for public use. We also offered improved housing and replacement infrastructure to each household. As requested by the community, we negotiated the final agreements directly with each household and gave them special consideration for contracting as workers or as local providers during construction. Agreements include replacement of houses, farmland and buildings, and other support and compensation.

Cultural heritage sites – Peru is a country rich in archeological heritage. Before construction started, we conducted a study to find any archeological sites on the property and obtained a Certificate of Non-Existence of Archeological Remains. The site has an archeological monitoring plan (AMP) to preserve cultural heritage and protect any archeological artifacts that may be found. As part of the plan, we have marked protected areas, erected signage and continue to recover new artifacts. We also hold weekly cultural heritage and awareness training for project workers and community members. The AMP is regularly audited by the Ministry of Culture and all of our activities to date have received government approval.

Small-scale mining – Small-scale, informal mining occurs in the Pampacancha area of our Constancia mineral claims. Hudbay Peru and the community implemented a five-year agreement that allows mining by a community enterprise, provided that it is restricted to the one area and is brought into legal compliance. The agreement, which helped formalize the activity there and reduce the risk of conflict, expires in June 2015. In planning for the development of the Pampacancha deposit, we will be engaging with these miners as well as the community as we require access to portions of these surface lands to mine the Pampacancha deposit.