LIMA, March 4 (Reuters) - Andean communities in Peru
will resume a blockade of a crucial highway used by major copper
producers next week, two local leaders said on Saturday,
following a truce that had allowed mining companies to restart
production.
Peru, the world's second largest copper producer, has been
facing protests since the dismissal of former President Pedro
Castillo on December 7, including blockades of roads through
which the mining companies obtain supplies for their operations.
The communities surrounding mining operations in the
interior of Peru have been in conflict with the companies for
years, demanding greater share of the profits from resource
exploitation. But now they are also demanding the resignation of
President Dina Boluarte following protests that left dozens
dead.
Residents of Espinar and Chumbivilcas provinces agreed to
the strike in the Cusco region on Monday and from Tuesday will
resume the blockade of the "mining corridor", used by Chinese
MMG Ltd's Las Bambas, Glencore's Antapaccay
and Hubbay Minerals's Constancia mines.
"We are supporting the protest against the government," said
the coordinator of the communities in the Antapaccay area of
influence in the province of Espinar, Flavio Huanque.
According to the Espinar agreement document, seen by
Reuters, the communities also agreed to demand the stoppage from
Monday of operations at Antapaccay, Las Bambas and Constancia.
"That is the agreement, from Monday we start the regional
strike and we are going to block the highway," Carlos Quispe,
one of the leaders of the defense front of the province of
Chumbivilcas, told Reuters.
Reuters reported this week that large mining companies in
the Peruvian Andes were seeking to resume their production
gradually after the corridor was unblocked, despite the climate
of uncertainty and social upheaval.
Las Bambas, which produces 2% of the world's copper and
began operating in 2016, has largely withstood the constant
stoppages, while the Antapaccay deposit suffered in January the
burning of part of its camp after an attack by protesters and is
still in the process of reopening.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino
Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Diane Craft)
drazen.jorgic.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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