Doe Run Peru Partners with Local Farmers to Clean Mantaro River Channel
Revitalization project will benefit 15,000 Andean farmers.
ST. LOUIS (PRWEB via PR Web Direct)
July 23, 2005 -- Doe Run Peru has partnered with local agricultural groups to
complete a major maintenance project that removed more than 60 years of
accumulated mud and debris from a river channel in the Andes Mountains near La
Oroya. This is the second such cleanup project Doe Run has been involved with
since arriving in Peru in 1997.
The $1.1 million project, funded by the
Peruvian government, was designed to increase the supply of water available to
some 15,000 farmers living near the Mantaro River, as well as expand the amount
of fertile farmland available to them. It was completed ahead of schedule and
won praise from Peruvian government officials.
The project was
supervised by the Mantaro District Watershed Users Council, working in
coordination with the Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Doe Run Peru. Using a
fleet of heavy equipment provided by Doe Run Peru, work crews removed 140,000
cubic meters of waste, accumulated during the last 60 years. At the direction of
the Agriculture Ministry in Huancayo and the request of local farmers, the
material was moved offsite to serve as fertilizer.
The effort is expected
to improve water flow by 11 cubic meters per second, benefiting approximately
40,000 hectares of farmland. It covers a 75-kilometer channel running from Jauja
to Huacrapuquio in the district of Huancayo. Agriculture Minister Manuel
Manrique said in an interview with Peru’s Radioprogramas radio network that the
work would not have been possible without the participation of Doe Run
Peru.
“This is work that the Ministry of Agriculture could not do, so we
got help from Doe Run, which with great pleasure agreed to this collaboration,”
Manrique said. “This is an indication that concerted efforts between the public
and private sectors can benefit the farmer directly, especially when mining and
agriculture work together, which is something we don’t see in other
places.”
According to Mario Melgar, the regional director for the
Ministry of Agriculture in Junin, the channel has received minimal maintenance
since its construction in August 1944. The only exception was in 2002 when Doe
Run Peru assisted in a similar, but more limited project.
In recognition
of the company’s efforts and contributions, Doe Run Peru recently received a
“Drop of Water” award from the Mantaro Water Users Group and a certificate of
recognition from the minister of agriculture, the president of the Mantaro Water
Users and the president of the National Association of Water Users.
The
Doe Run Company, along with its subsidiaries, is a privately held natural
resource company focused on environmentally sound mineral production, recycling
and metals fabrication. Based in St. Louis, the company and its subsidiaries
serve as North America’s largest integrated lead producer and third-largest
total lead producer worldwide, employing more than 4,000 people. The company and
its employees are committed to keeping its operations and communities clean and
safe while producing essential raw materials – lead, zinc, copper, gold and
silver – that are needed for everyday life. Doe Run and its subsidiaries have
U.S. operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona, and South American
operations in Peru. For more information on Doe Run visit http://www.doerun.com.
Contact:
Christi Dixon
314-469-3500
http://www.doerun.com
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb264486.htm