These are legitimate concerns and are very worthy of discussion. Before everyone panicks on this situation, I think there should be considerable thought put into this.

Can our situation be compared/ paralleled to BCM? I beleive we will have to research this rather than make a face value conclusion. There are many contributing factors that apply to this incident that may or may not apply to us.

This interesting peice came from the Reuters link you provided;

{GOLD OR SILVER?

But the magazine Caretas reported this week that wildcat miners are interested in the lands of the concession and are working alongside protesters. Locals think the concession has valuable gold deposits in addition to silver. Wildcat gold mining is a major cause of mercury pollution in Peruvian rivers and lakes.}

The use of mercury by wildcat miners is a main source of pollution in Peru and is something that Humala must address. The big part of the story here is the government is battling the wildcat miners on their own. When people start getting hurt, the governments first course of defence will/should be to protect the civilians. Although they cancelled BCM,s permit, this may only be temporary to calm the people and get control of the situation. Locals are blaming foreign mining on pollution, but in fact, most of it is coming from the local wildcat miners their selves.

If the government lets the wildcat mercury use to exist, the pollution will spread, killing more people. The best way to stop this is to regulate and control the wildcatters. The government has a big decision to make here;

Let the wildcatters win , people still die, foreign investment walks and the country is set back into regression.

OR

Take control of the situation and move forward .

Which would be the best decision?