Potential Impacts of Mining In Intag
What The Junín Area Looks Like Now: |
What The Junín Area Might Look Like After Mining: |
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| This is a satellite image of what the Junín mining property looks like now. This area is among the most ecologically diverse areas on earth. It is also home to several villages. | This is what Junín might look like if the proposed open pit copper mine was built, complete with a tailings pond filled with toxic mine waste. This satellite image of an actual open pit copper mine and tailings pond from Chile has been superimposed on the Junín property concession to scale. |
Social and Environmental Impacts of
Mining
According
to an Environmental Report prepared in 1996 and submitted by Copper
Mesa to Ecuador’s Ministry of Energy and Mines in 2004, mining in the
Intag area would result in:
- Relocation
of an estimated four
communities containing over 100 families
- Massive
deforestation within the mining property
- Desertification
of the surrounding area caused by the massive deforestation
The study also concluded that mining would impact dozens of species of animals,
including more than a dozen
species of mammals and birds threatened with extinction.
Many
threatened and rare species live in this area, including Jaguars,
Spectacled Bears,
Mountain Tapirs, and the
critically endangered Brown-headed Spider Monkey.
Interactive Map of the Junín Property
View Junin Project in a larger map