Public hearings scheduled for this month on a controversial gold and copper-mining project in northern Peru were canceled shortly before they were to have been held, ostensibly due to security concerns. Canadian-based Manhattan Minerals was to have presented its environmental-impact statement at hearings slated for Nov. 5 in Lima, Nov. 6 in Piura and Nov. 7 in Tambogrande, where mineral exploration has been underway since 1999. In mid-October, Peru's Energy and Mines Ministry announced it had canceled the Tambogrande hearing, citing a "lack of security guarantees." Local authorities and residents of that farming area, which produces most of Peru's limes and large quantities of mangos for export, have consistently opposed the project, which would require relocation of a third of the... [Log in to read more]