The mining company Aruntani SAC issued a statement yesterday, August 1, after the Central Government issued the supreme decree declaring several districts of Islay (Arequipa) and Moquegua in a state of emergency due to the contamination of the Tambo and Coralaque rivers.
In it release, the company, which was accused by authorities of being responsible for the contamination of the flows; claimed that the damage was caused by natural causes.
“Regarding the contamination of the Titire River, which is claimed to be the responsibility of Aruntani SAC, the company refers to the results of various studies and reports carried out by both public bodies and specialized private companies, which indicate that said contamination is generated by natural causes attributable to the geological characteristics of the area, the effect of which is accentuated by the presence of more than 40 hot springs distributed along the Titire River, from the town of the same name and towards the Coralaque basin.”it reads.
Aruntani also welcomed the announcement of the Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, on the studies to determine the origin of the alleged contamination of the waters of the indicated rivers.
However, in recent statements, the Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Ángel Manero Campos, pointed out that regarding Regarding the issue of environmental remediation, in light of this contamination generated by mining activity in the impact zone, the Ministry of Energy and Mines will be the entity that must provide details on the total closure of the Tucari mining unit, of the Aruntani company, which would be the main source of contamination in the basin.
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In this regard, Aruntani SAC welcomed what was stated by Minister of Energy and Mines, Rómulo Mucho, during a visit to the area, which is sought “the definitive and comprehensive closure of the Florencia Tucari mining unit.”
The company stated that it is a legal obligation assumed by the General Directorate of Mining (DGM) of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) In September 2019, after this General Directorate executed the bond established by Aruntani SAC to guarantee the mine closure plan (PCM), approved by the ministry itself.
According to him Article 61 of the Regulations of the Mine Closure Lawstipulates that once the bond established to guarantee the mine closure plan has been executed, the DGM commissions a specialized company to carry out said activities.
Aruntani specified that this assignment was given recently, on December 30, 2022, through Supreme Decree No. 020-2022-EM, which in its first article instructs Mining Assets SAC (AMSAC)“the execution of the Mine Closure Plans of the Florencia Tucari (and) Arasi mining units.”
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“However, it is necessary to indicate that, despite the execution of the bond in 2019, and that through Ministerial Resolution No. 468-2022-MINEM / DGM, the MINEM transferred 20 million soles to the company AMSAC, “for the execution of the closure plans of the Florencia Tucari (and) Arasi mines”, until now it remains a pending issue, which we understand, seeks to be remedied with the Government’s commitment to achieve the comprehensive closure of the Florencia Tucari mining unit.“i”, he said.
He also stressed that the mining units in Aruntani are not producing. “EIn the last five years, Aruntani SAC, faced with AMSAC’s passivity, has sought to execute not only the closure of the mining unit, a point denied by the agencies that regulate its activity, but has also assumed the management and environmental monitoring of all its mining units at a cost of 75 million dollars (including the guarantees executed by the DGM), despite the fact that, since June 2019, Aruntani SAC’s mining units have not produced a single ounce of mineral. This amount could have been used for the process of comprehensive closure of the company’s mining units.“, he explained.
