Mining in Cerro de Pasco

The Investigations Lab worked with the Center for Climate Crime Analysis (CCCA) to gather and analyze open source information on key players involved in extracting resources in the small Peruvian mining town of Cerro de Pasco. This included identifying the shareholders of Volcan Compañia Minera and its parent company, Glencore, and figure out which have made commitments to environmental causes and/or sustainability. This resulted in the Norwegian Pension Fund publicly announcing its decision to divest its holdings from Glencore on May 13, 2020.

According to CCCA, numerous Peruvian governmental authorities and NGOs, as well as international organizations, have reported that Cerro de Pasco is exposed to extreme levels of environmental pollution caused by mining which impacts the health of the town’s inhabitants. Cerro de Pasco’s mines are owned and operated by the Peruvian company Volcan Compañía Minera S.A.A. (“Volcan”). Students gathered information to make connections between key players at Volcan, with a view to supporting potential litigation.