La Oroya
| La Oroya | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 11 ° 31 ′ S , 75 ° 54 ′ W | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Peru | ||
| Junín | |||
| province | Yauli | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | PE-JUN | ||
| District | La Oroya | ||
| height | 3745 m | ||
| Residents | 11,425 (2017) | ||
| Website | laoroya.gob.pe (Spanish) | ||
 Marcavalle district
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La Oroya is the provincial capital of Yauli in the Junín administrative region in central Peru . The city is located in the La Oroya district of the same name .
Geographical location
La Oroya is located at the confluence of the Río Yauli in the upper reaches of the Río Mantaro . The Peruvian Central Cordillera rises east of the city. La Oroya is located at an altitude of 3745 m , about 140 kilometers east-northeast of Lima .
population
The population was 11,425 in 2017. Ten years earlier it was 15,751.
etymology
According to local tradition, the name "La Oroya" comes from a type of suspension bridge over the Río Mantaro. If you want to cross this suspension bridge, the easiest way to take your belongings with you is in a kind of basket. These baskets, which are used in the area, are called "Oroyas".
Mining and smelting
The city is considered the mining center of Peru . The rock around the city is interspersed with lead , copper , zinc and silver . The US mining group Doe Run Company cleared around 600,000 tons of rock from the mountains in Peru every year, from which around 55,000 tons of metals are washed out with sulfuric acid .
Copper has been mined in La Oroya since 1922, lead production began in 1928 and zinc extraction in 1952. Gold and silver have also been found since 1950, and there are also a large amount of valuable by-products. In 2012 Doe Run shut down the smelting plant ( complejo metalúrgico ) in La Oroya. Doe Run has since tried unsuccessfully to sell the facility.
In 2018 the dismissed miners and ironworkers tried, with the support of their union, to acquire the smelting plants and to restart production. But even this plan could not be realized.
environmental pollution
The waste water from the huts was contaminated with heavy metals , the exhaust gases contained sulfur, enriched with lead, arsenic and cadmium . Precipitation here forms acid rain to a considerable extent , which pollutes the potential cultivated areas around the city as well as the Río Mantaro, where the drinking water sources of the capital arise. According to a study by the University of San Luis (Missouri, USA) on behalf of the World Health Organization , 7 out of 10 children examined had 20 to 40 µg lead per deciliter in their blood. Asthma , bronchial diseases as well as kidney and nerve problems are widespread in the population. La Oroya was named one of the ten most polluted places in the world in October 2006 and again in 2007 by the US environmental protection organization Blacksmith Institute .
Transport links
La Oroya is also a railway junction with the three main lines of Ferrocarril Central Andino SA , which end in Lima and Callao on the Pacific coast and in Cerro de Pasco and Huancayo in the mountains. The line to Huancayo was until 2005 the highest standard-gauge railway line in the world with a vertex at 4,781 m above sea level at La Galera. However, the importance of the rail connection has declined significantly, currently (2005) tourist trains run weekly over the summit at larger intervals .
In addition, the Peruvian road of the center goes in the direction of Huancayo , the regional capital through La Oroya.
tourism
La Oroya is also home to one of the tallest chimneys in South America.
The cityscape is strongly shaped by a single long street with simple corrugated iron huts and spoil heaps . The 4,700 meter high Ticlio pass can be reached by road from La Oroya. The highest golf course in the world is also located in La Oroya .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Yauli, Province in Junín Region, La Oroya, Urban Main Locality . www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ↑ La Oroya: el destino del centro metalúrgico aún es incierto , accessed on February 1, 2019.
- ↑ Trabajadores planean comprar complejo metalúrgico La Oroya tras subastas fallidas , Reuters, April 2, 2018, accessed on February 1, 2019.
- ↑ Report at Coordinadora Nacional de Radio ( Memento of the original of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Spanish)
- ↑ Spiegel Online : ENVIRONMENT DIRT: The ten dirtiest places in the world , October 19, 2006
- ↑ Spiegel Online : ENVIRONMENTAL KILLER MINING: Latin America's dirtiest city in demand and photo series , October 21, 2007
