Esquel says NO!

Recently, the inhabitants of Esquel overwhelmingly voted against a proposal to install a gold mine in the nearby mountains. 80% of the voters were against the initiative, which was proposed by the Canadian multinational Meridian Gold, who originally enjoyed the support of the provincial government of Chubut. The controversy over gold mining began in August 2002, when the company bought El Desquite, a gold and silver deposit.

El Desquite is huge--there are more than 2,400 hectares in hill 21--and it lies only 7 kilometers as the crow flies from the center of the town of Esquel. Soon after Merdian Gold announced its intentions to begin mining, the people of Esquel began to gather information about the proposed project. Various experts and scientists, including ones from the University of Patagonia, confirmed that to extract gold from this deposit, cyanide, hydrochlorate acid and caustic soda, would need to be used. During this process arsenic and lead oxide would be released as by-products of the mining process. All of these are highly toxic chemicals.

We need to remember that Esquel occupies a unique place in the world´s ecosystem. A mining project would cause a dramatic impact not only to the landscape, but to its economic interests of its citizens as well. Esquel is a small city of 30,000 inhabitants, located at the foot of the Andes mountain range, in the western part of the Chubut province in southern Argentina. Its main sources of income are tourism, the collection of fine fruits and the production of products derived from these (sweets and preserves). Nearby we find the Alerces (larches) National Park, a federally protected ecosystem, characterized by a system of united lakes, rivers and streams that empty into the Pacific. The park is world renowned for its fly fishing and stunning scenery.

And now let us review a few points regarding the impact a mine would do to this environment, especially a strip mine which removes the tops of mountains to extract the resources below.

• Mining is a highly aggressive activity not only towards the natural environment but also the social environment.

• Among its consequences is not only the destruction of the mine surface by the movement of great quantities of materials but also deforestation, the contamination of water supplies, as they are exploited in during the ore removal process, and the formation of lagoons of contaminated water.

• The "waste" material from the evacuations remains at the sight, like a giant rubbish heap, destroying the beauty of the landscape forever.

• The removal of large quantities of earth and rock also contaminates the air. This pollution is the result of not only suspended dust, but also because certain rocks left in the open air oxidize, releasing toxins.

• This same process can also contaminate underground water supplies, as well as causing cave-ins.

• Regarding its societal impact, generally the mine displaces the other economic activities of the area, with little regard to the importance of the previous activities. Additionally, it creates temporary human settlements as the people who come to work on the mine, attracted by the promise of secure work, do not
  stay in the area beyond the conclusion of the project.

• Since the people who arrive to work do not put down roots in the community, it is difficult for them to develop a conscience of protection for the environment or to be responsible for the future of their surroundings. Consequently, many times a division develops between neighbours who are "permanent" and those "of the mine."

At the moment of the plebiscite, the project was still in its exploration stages. Already, tunnels and plastic pipes that were used to explore for the gold veins could be seen from the surface of the site. The results of this study showed that the gold lies more than 200 meters below the surface. If the project were to proceed, the next stage would be the extraction of the gold and silver, and it is during this stage that the stone and earth is removed from the mountain. Cyanide is used to separate the ore from the earth, and after it is used this toxin remains in containers exposed to the open air. Once all of the ore is extracted, a process that takes about 10 years, the company, its job finished, leaves the area.

One of the great fears of the residents of Esquel is the contamination of the water supply, which has been an inevitable consequence in other mining operations in the United States, as well as other areas. The Cooperative of the 16th of October, which has been providing water to the city since 1930, said that the project could contaminate the water of the Huillimanco lagoon, the main water source for the town. For this reason, in spite of the great amount of unemployed people in Esquel, and of the promise of the company to give 300 jobs to people of the town, the town was united to preserve the natural resources of all the area.

The people of Esquel received the support of national and international organizations in their fight to preserve their land and their way of life. Of all of the protests against the project, the one of Greenpeace was the most striking. Greenpeace activists placed 150 gold-painted skulls in front of the Casa Rosada --the presidential office in Buenos Aires-- to represent the environmental impact of the proposed gold mine.

Now, from the rotund result of the popular consultation, the Mining Project has been suspended indefinitely. According to the governor of Chubut, this is to ensure that the mine is not only legal but also receives social approval.

Also, there is the announcement of a law by the Provincial Legislature that restricts mining activity in certain zones in the province, particularly in the Cordillera (Andes) region, which is rich in deposits of zinc, copper, silver and gold. Most importantly, it suspended the authorization of new explorations for a time.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of National Production stated that this type of law runs counter to the established governmental procedures, since a provincial law cannot take away the power of the Executive branch to authorize mining projects. Does this statement imply that this law will be vetoed by the executive or will not be recognized under the national mining code? In any case, with a company that already invested up to 100 million dollars in the "El Desquite" project and a law whose legality is unsettled, the people of Esquel clearly know that they cannot lower their arms: only they are the true guardians of the wealth that lies beneath their feet. They, and all of us who join them in their fight.