China Gets a Bargain on Peru’s ‘Copper Mountain’
June 29, 2008 · Print This Article
One of the most productive copper mines on earth – Mount Toromocho in Peru – is now in the hands of China. Chinese officials plan to exploit the mountain for all it’s worth, sending all of the copper back home to carry out the electrification of the entire country. The deal not only cheats Peruvians out of the true value of the copper mine, since it was sold to China for such a ‘great bargain’, but will displace all of the residents of the area.
From the BBC:
The Peruvian government is happy with the $3bn (£1.53bn) that Chinalco will invest in the Toromocho mines.
The Chinese will be even happier. They have got themselves a bargain.
The copper Chinalco extracts from Toromocho will cost something like US$410 (£210) per ton. Today, the price for copper on the London Metal Exchange was $8,255 (£4,220) - 20 times more.
Chinalco stands to make a 2,000% profit on its investment.
As destructive as it is, there should be a worldwide ban on mountaintop removal for mining purposes. This isn’t just about frightening amounts of power in the hands of China, taking advantage of poor countries, forcing people out of their homes and displacing wildlife. It’s a scary trend that threatens the beauty of the natural world and has the potential to create even more pollution than we’re already dealing with. China has already shown that the environment is far from its top priority, and as the BBC mentions, it has ‘vast reserves of foreign currency’ at its disposal.
Link [BBC]
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sorry i have a really dumb question but if China now owns the mountain in Peru will people in Peru now need a passport to go on it?
Its a Chinese company that bought the rights to extract the copper from the mountain and not chinese government that bought a piece of land from peru. So, no need for passport!