According to Mining News Pro - LIMA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indigenous protesters in Peru have
blocked China-owned miner MMG Ltd from using a highway
on their community`s farmland high in the Andes, keeping the
company from transporting copper from its massive Las Bambas
mine, the community`s attorney said on Monday.
Families from the indigenous village of Nueva Fuerabamba
started occupying the road nearly a week ago to demand the
company compensate them for use of it, said Nueva Fuerabamba
attorney Carlos Vargas. The protest will continue until MMG`s
senior officials in Peru agree to talks, he added.
MMG, the international mining unit of China`s state-owned
China Minmetals Corp Ltd , said there was no immediate
impact to operations but that "all concentrate logistics are
suspended."
"As it stands, the road is still blocked to all traffic,"
MMG said in a statement to Reuters from its headquarters in
Australia on Monday.
"MMG is committed to establishing a meaningful dialogue with
the community members and have engaged with public authorities,"
it added.
Vargas accused the company of building the road on Nueva
Fuerabamba`s farmland without consulting the community, and said
the government illegally seized it by making it a state highway
in May.
Peru`s energy and mines ministry did not respond to requests
for comment.
Las Bambas, one of Peru`s largest copper mines at more than
13,000 feet (4,000 meters) in the country`s southern mining
belt, produced about 190,000 tonnes of copper in the first six
months of 2018, according to government data.
The protests mark the latest conflict stemming from Las
Bambas` decision to transport its copper over unpaved roads
instead of through a pipeline.
Indigenous farming communities in the region have raised
safety and health concerns about heavy dust churned up by
hundreds of trucks used by Las Bambas every day.
Clashes between protesters and authorities left four local
men dead in 2015 and 2016. Protesters blocking roads in 2016
suspended Las Bambas` shipments of copper from Matarani and
nearly halted its operations.
Nueva Fuerabamba was the only community relocated to make
way for Las Bambas. Community members have said the company did
not deliver all it promised in a deal that gave them a new town
near the mine and farmland in a neighboring region. In June, Nueva Fuerabamba filed a lawsuit against the
company, seeking 150 million soles ($46 million) and the
annulment of its relocation agreement with the company, said
Frank Chavez, another attorney for the community.
MMG called the claim "unfounded and opportunistic," vowing
to contest it.
(Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)