Conflict. Zafranal Project, whose investment amounts to US$1,263 million, needs more than 12,207 hectares for its activities. The land belongs to Autodema. Previous regional management approved a transfer that is now reversed due to defects.
The Majes Autonomous Authority (Autodema) of the Regional Government of Arequipa initiated the process to annul Executive Management Resolution No. 349-2022, which cedes 12,207 hectares to Zafranal. This mining project is located between the Arequipa districts of Huancarqui (Castilla) and Lluta (Caylloma). It plans to mine copper for 19 years and has announced an investment of more than US$1,263 million.
The assignment of the land, where the mining activities, has been in controversy since last year. The previous Regional Council of Arequipa (CRA), in 2022, warned of several vices; likewise, the Comptroller General.
“He has had several vices,” explained the executive manager of Autodema, Ulises Aguilar Villavicencio, before the plenary session of regional councillors. Based on a new analysis of legal advice from the entity, it is concluded that there are observations and that the resolution is not legal, as officials reported in 2022.
According to Aguilar, the requirements for the usufruct were not met, there was only a unilateral appraisal (from the mining company), the permits for the project of the corresponding sectors were not presented, among others.
The official stressed that the Lima legal firm was commissioned Sanchez Povis Lawyers the analysis of the usufruct contract.
The appraisal is also processed at the Construction Directorate of the General Directorate of Policies and Regulation in Construction and Sanitation of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation.
Both documents seek to support the annulment before a possible arbitration filed by the Zafranal SAC Mining Company (CMZ).
With the study’s response, which is estimated to take 10 days, the cancellation would take another 20 days. Juan Jose Valverde, Autodema’s legal advisor, indicated that they will be given 5 days for CMZ to make its defenses. The case could also be prosecuted in a contentious-administrative process.
Once the act of annulment concludes, the land may be recovered extrajudicially, and actions such as studies, exploration or exploitation within the land will not be allowed.Valverde said at the meeting.
delays
In it Perumin 2022representatives of the CMZ, expressed their intention to initiate the construction of the mine in 2024. The project has an estimated investment of US$1,263 million to exploit copper. The resolution in question would affect their procedures for the Environment Effect investigation (EIA) and the construction license. They planned 3 years of construction, 19 of exploitation and 7 for its closure. Among the disclaimers of the mining company presented in December 2022 and January 2023, they said that the administrative act was given within the legal framework and that they could carry out a new appraisal. The regional councilor Cesar Huamantuma indicated that there is co-responsibility of both entities. “We do not understand how a mining company did not realize that the paperwork for the land did not meet all the requirements,” she said. He added that blaming Autodema would be one of the CZM’s arguments in an eventual arbitration.
Ulises Aguilar: “They led me astray”
The executive manager of Autodema, Ulises Aguilarpointed out that the previous Autodema officials “led him into error” and that they did not even provide him with documentation on the observations to the resolution in favor of the CMZ. In a previous meeting with the directors, he concluded that the issuance of the assignment of the land occurred within a legal framework. However, he acknowledged that he now took into consideration the report of the Regional Council of Arequipa and the Office of the Comptroller of the Republic.
The amount
1,902,141
