A Chinese mining company relocated a whole Peruvian town. Now, they are struggling to survive

Both Old and New Morochocha offer significant drawbacks

Originally published on Global Voices

New Morococha. Screenshot from a promotional video by Minería Chinalco.

In 2013, Chinese mining company Chinalco (中国铝业集团有限公司) sparked an international conversation about extractive impacts with the news it had successfully relocated an entire Peruvian town of 5,000 residents to clear space for a copper mine. At the time, the relocation project in Morococha, central Peru, was touted...