FAQ
What is the relationship between Dorato Resources and Minera Afrodita?Compania Minera Afrodita S.A.C., is a Peruvian company which has held mineral exploration rights in the Cordillera del Condor since 1993. In 2007, Dorato signed an option agreement with Afrodita and now has the right to wholly acquire the company in the future. As a foreign company, Dorato Resources cannot operate within 50 km of the international frontier before receiving a supreme decree from Peruvian authorities. Dorato has made an application for this decree and intends to exercise this option once it is granted.
Although Dorato Resources is not active in the Cordillera, we fully recognize that as option holders and future operators, we must ensure that Minera Afrodita complies with internationally accepted best practices in terms of human rights and mineral exploration practices. We are confident that Minera Afrodita is operating to these high standards.
Why are exploration companies allowed to operate in this region of the Amazon Basin?
It is important to understand that the area in question is located on the edge of the Amazon basin, within an area designated as sub-montane forest. The area is a very remote and mountainous region along the border with Ecuador that was officially designated for mineral development in a bi-national covenant back in 1998, nine years before Dorato signed its first option agreement with Minera Afrodita.
Minera Afrodita's tenure is far removed from potentially affected communities - the exploration camp is a seven day walk from the nearest communities and there is no transportation or communication infrastructure of any kind in the area.
In order to get permission to explore and to develop these lands, Minera Afrodita must comply with regulations of the Peruvian mining and environment authorities. It also observes international guidelines defined for best practice in exploration.
When do you expect to start full scale mining?
It is premature to speculate about mining in the Cordillera. While the Cordillera has been identified as one of the most highly prospective and under-developed copper-gold belts globally, right now Minera Afrodita is at an early exploration stage.
A decision to proceed with mining in the area will not be made for many years. If an economically viable mineral deposit is discovered, many years of study must be completed including resource estimates, preliminary economic assessments, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies. A decision on whether to proceed will only be made following receipt of a positive feasibility study.
Wasn't the land where Minera Afrodita is exploring intended to be a national park under the bi-national treaty signed by Ecuador and Peru in 1998?
No, the treaty signed by Ecuador and Peru in 1998, specifically identified the land closest to their mutual border for mining development. Modern exploration has proceeded on the Ecuadorian side of the border, with a number of world-class gold and copper-gold deposits successfully delineated. The Peruvian portion of the Cordillera, while sharing key geological features and stratigraphy, has remained almost entirely unexplored by Peruvians -- until the current exploration by Minera Afrodita and other exploration companies.
The bi-national treaty, signed in 1998 by Peru and Ecuador, included a specific clause establishing bi-national cooperation to explore and ultimately mine the mineral deposits of the border area. One year later that clause evolved into a further bi-national treaty called the Treaty for Mining and Energy.
A national park (Ichigkat Muja National Park) was established in 2007, but it is located north of the project area. This protected area does not have any mineral claims and is not being explored by Minera Afrodita or of the other mineral exploration companies operating in the area.
Are the Awajun and Wampis peoples in the Cordillera del Condor region being consulted about how their lands are used?
Yes, the indigenous peoples are being consulted and have been from the outset of the project in 2008. Dorato considers engagement and consultation with local communities, regional authorities and the national government as well as other stakeholders such as regional NGOs and religious groups, as an essential principle underpinning our future investment. Minera Afrodita runs information workshops, which are part of the official procedures established for getting a licence to explore. It is difficult, in such a remote area, to hold community meetings in locations suitable for all communities. In order to provide an opportunity for full participation, Minera Afrodita provides help with transportation.
Peru ratified the International Labour Organization's Indigenous and Tribal People's Convention (ILO 169) in 1995, two years after mineral title in the Cordillera had been awarded to Minera Afrodita and Minera Afrodita supports the ILO covenant.
Within the ILO framework, there are several aspects key to the collective rights of indigenous people. Dorato agreed with Minera Afrodita that an extensive information and communications program should be developed for the Cordillera. This program aims to educate communities about exploration activities and the impact benefits for the indigenous people. In other words, explaining how the hidden mineral wealth of the Cordillera could benefit the local populations.
What is being done to mitigate any long term environmental damage from your mining operations?
It is important to remember that Minera Afrodita is at the exploration stage currently, using only small man-portable drill rigs. These rigs operate on small drill platforms, less than 3 metres by 3 metres, and are transported by people along small walking trails. This means the environmental footprint is minimized and there is no need to build roads. Platforms and walking trails are re-vegetated and reclaimed on completion of drilling. A more substantive description of modern exploration techniques being utilized by Minera Afrodita can be found on this website.
As well as providing considerable benefits to local communities, mining projects can have negative impacts as well -- it is not possible to extract resources from underground and leave the mine site exactly as it was found. The key is to maximise the positive benefits and minimise negative impacts.
There have been media reports that Minera Afrodita is already mining in the Cordillera; is this true?
Minera Afrodita is not mining in the Cordillera. There are extensive illegal mine workings in Ecuador, close to the border, where illegal or 'informal' Ecuadorian miners have been working for many years. This activity, unlike modern mining techniques, is completely unregulated and leads to extensive land and groundwater pollution.
In the last 10 years, Ecuadorian miners have crossed the border into Peru and have been mining in restricted areas such as at Taricori, where 2,600 metres of underground tunnels have been excavated. Minera Afrodita, as part of their Taricori exploration permit, has committed to close the illegal mine tunnels and rehabilitate the area.
What is being done doing to protect the area's water system -- water that flows to the downstream Awajun communities?
Minera Afrodita is not mining and so surface disturbances are minimal. Since there is no mining, there is also no processing of gold ores and, therefore, there are no chemicals or reagents being used in the Peruvian territory.
The prospecting and exploration work that is being undertaken by Minera Afrodita does not cause pollution of rivers or streams in the Cordillera. Waste disposal in the camp is carefully managed and monitored by environmental consultants. Fluids and lubricants used in drilling are biodegradable such that no negative impacts will be seen in the groundwater or streams.