by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:02 PM ET, Tue November 27, 2018
Conservationists have just scored a notable victory in Peru.
In a country where confrontations between tourism and mining interests are common, the government has moved to block all mining exploration licenses on the popular tourist destination of Rainbow Mountain, according to Bloomberg.
The mountain, in southeastern Peru near Cuzco, is famed for its colorful slopes and attracts about 1,000 tourists a day.
But those famous colors did not go unnoticed by mining companies, which saw traces of copper ore, iron ore, and other minerals.
In March, Canada-based Camino Minerals Corp. was given a mining concession for the mountain triggering outrage from locals. By June, the company reportedly said it would give up mining rights to the area, according to Bloomberg.
However, uncertainty about the mountain's future continued until this past Friday when a presidential decree banned all mining activity in the area for 12 months.
"Due to the uniqueness of its geological composition, this natural formation has become a globally recognized attraction, favoring the development of activities around it with an important impact on the economy of the communities in the area, which is why it is necessary to preserve it," states the decree, which goes on to note that it's necessary to suspend the admission of mining claims in the mountain area in order to guarantee the technical and legal actions required for conservation.
"The suspension of the petitions will facilitate the technical and legal actions required, tending to delimit and guarantee the legal caution and preservation of that area that has a unique geological composition," Peru's Minister of Energy and Mines, Francisco Ismodes told a local publication, Andina.
It is estimated that during the 12 months of suspension, the procedures necessary to declare the mountain a regional conservation area will have been completed.
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