Guest Lecture: Mining and Environmental (Ab)use in Latin America; the Conga case. By Professor Reinaldo Rodriguez (Peru)

The Peruvian professor Reinaldo Rodriguez will provide a guest lecture at the KU Leuven (catholic university of Leuven) on February 21, 2013 between 1.00 and 2.00 pm.  In this lecture he will introduce the problems surrounding the Conga mine in Peru, which is to be constructed in the Cajamarca region and would cover 2,000 hectares of land. All this in a region that is known for its environmental vulnerability and fragile ecosystems. Local communities fear the dissapearance of four lakes in the region as a result of the Conga mine, which wants to compensate this loss by the creation of four reservoirs that should supply enough water for the predominantly agricultural region. Opposition argues that such artificial reservoirs cannot replace a complex hydrological system and will mean additional long term costs (both financial and ecological).

Professor Rodriguez is an engineer that will share his experiences with the Conga project; this lecture will focus on its ecological impacts and alternatives for sustainable mining.