Protests go on after Peru mine project suspended

Protesters in Peru on Wednesday called for the "definitive cancelation" of a $4.8-billion gold mining project a day after violent clashes prompted a suspension of operations at the US-run mine. Days of violent protests forced the suspension of the country's most ambitious mining project, operated by US mining giant Newmont in mountainous northern Peru. Protests blocking roads in Cajamarca department persisted Wednesday as local residents and environmental activists sought government guarantees that the project would not go ahead. "We want the definitive cancelation of this project and expect a government decree that declares it non-viable," said the department chief Gregorio Santos. A document released Tuesday by US-Peruvian consortium Yanacocha, run by Newmont and local partner Buenaventura, announced the suspension of the so-called Conga Project, which President Ollanta Humala had backed, and said the company was committed to entering new negotiations and seeking the "recovery of trust." "But there has been no official government document on the action taken," Santos said. "The Yanacocha firm does not rule Peru; it is the state which must express its will through a document in black and white," he said, stressing that after a government ruling there should be ample opportunity for debate. Protests throughout the Cajamarca department have been boiling over for a week, with a mob setting fire to a local warehouse and the main airport being forced to close. At least 10 people were injured on Tuesday's sixth day of protests, which have brought the department to a near standstill. Wilfredo Saavedra, who heads the Environmental Defense Front of Cajamarca which called the indefinite strike one week ago, said the work stoppage will continue. "The Yanacocha statement is not convincing, because it doesn't change the critical situation that we're in," Saavedra said, as he called for the removal of the company's mining equipment and more police reinforcements deployed in the region to reduce tensions. The open-pit Conga Project involves moving water from four lakes high in the Andes into company-built reservoirs. Protesters say the reservoirs do not adequately replace the lakes, which provide water for the region's residents, agriculture and livestock.