Illegal miners again dynamite high-voltage tower in Poderosa

Poderosa Mining Company Statement

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

This morning, illegal miners destroyed another high-tension tower near the Atahualpa mine with four charges of dynamite, leaving the Cedro sector and the Santa María Production Unit of Compañía Minera Poderosa without electricity. The emergency plan was immediately activated to partially restore the electricity supply to operations while the affected tower is replaced.

This is the second attack against the company in less than four days and the sixteenth (16) high voltage tower destroyed by illegal miners in the last three years. To this must be added the regrettable loss of the lives of 18 collaborators, victims of attacks by illegal miners against our operations.

As we pointed out in a previous statement, the destructive escalation unleashed by illegal miners occurs despite the State of Emergency and the presence of more than 200 police officers and army personnel in Pataz.

In addition to the constant siege that Poderosa has been suffering from these criminal groups, there is also the spiral of violent confrontations that have been taking place between the illegal miners themselves for territorial control of the area, with terrible consequences. Let us remember that last November the PNP discovered a mass grave with at least 16 bodies, according to police reports.

The deterioration of security conditions and the impunity of illegal miners in the area requires a strong and coherent response from the State. This should involve better intelligence work and the creation of a flagrancy unit, in addition to the Police Front recently announced by Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen. This front urgently needs to be implemented so that the State of Emergency can be more effective.

The Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) does not have an office in Pataz to handle these cases, and prosecutors have to travel from Huamachuco, six hours away. It is urgent to resolve this shortcoming and strengthen the coordination between the MP and the Judiciary to combat illegal mining.

An enormous responsibility also lies with the Congress of the Republic, which last December again expanded REINFO, a registry that illegal miners use to continue operating with total impunity.

Currently, there are 25 areas of our operations occupied by illegal miners, from which we have had to withdraw to protect the physical integrity and safety of the workers. Likewise, there are more than 40 illegal gold processing plants operating in the area, perfectly identified and georeferenced. To this we must add the transfer of illegally extracted minerals to different formal plants on the coast.

Unfortunately, our repeated requests to the PNP to evict illegal miners from the tunnels they invade and to intervene in the plants that process illegal minerals have not been met.