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LIMA (Reuters) - Two people were killed and 50 were injured in protests against Xstrata's Peruvian copper mine Tintaya on Monday, prompting the governmentto suspend freedom of assembly in a bid to break roadblocksisolating the mine. At least 30 of the injured were police and one judicial officialwas detained by protesters in the mountainous southern region ofCusco, officials said. President Ollanta Humala, a former military officer like PrimeMinister Oscar Valdes, has urged mediation to avert violence, butcritics say he has become impatient with intransigent protestersand too willing to rely on authoritarian tactics to maintain order. The latest protest over the spoils of natural resource wealth isone of hundreds of disputes that Humala has tried to defuse. Theconflicts threaten to delay billions of dollars in investments in asector that drives 60 percent of exports in Peru's fast-growingeconomy. They also test Humala's ability to resolve conflicts in anoften polarized political environment. "What we are dealing with isn't a peaceful protest. We are dealingwith extremists," Valdes said in a nationwide TV address. It was at least the second time the Humala administration has usedemergency rules that give the army special police powers andprohibit people from gathering in groups to end anti-miningprotests in one of the world's leading minerals exporters. At least 10 people have died in disputes over natural resourcessince Humala took office in July. At least 174 people died insimilar protests during the government of his predecessor, AlanGarcia - marring his term. The Tintaya protest has blocked transport links, but the globalfirm's mine is operating normally and its port on the Pacific coasthas stocks of concentrates for the time being, a company executivesaid. Despite being hit by the week-long protest, Xstrata is committed toinvesting in Peru and its $1.5 billion expansion to the Tintayamine is on track to open in late August, said Luis Rivera, thecompany's operations director for Peru. Protesters in the province of Espinar say the mine causes pollutionand want the company to boost financial donations it makes to thelocal government of Espinar, which the company has rejected, sayingits voluntary contributions are already very generous. 'RADICAL POLITICAL POSITION' "Our local contribution is 30 million soles ($11 million) a year,which isn't a little," Rivera said. "We give 3 percent of ourpretax profits to the province of Espinar and they want us to raisethis to 30 percent." Espinar, like many local and regional governments in Peru, isperiodically hit by anti-mining protests by poor residents who saythey have not seen the benefits of the country's decade-longeconomic boom. The central government and miners criticize localgovernments for lacking the capacity to spend tax revenue and saythey are sitting on piles of cash. "The municipal budget in Espinar is 190 million soles a year, andit only manages to spend 30 percent, and they are asking for moremoney," Rivera said. He said all serious studies have shown the mine fully complies withall environmental standards and that complaints of the protestersover water quality were being trumped up for political reasons. "There is a radical political position behind all of this," Riverasaid. Humala, a former leftist who now firmly supports projects proposedby foreign mining companies, has said the far-left, while small,has tried to stop big mining projects as part of a push to expandits influence. Protests against the $4.8 billion Conga mine in northern Peru, thelargest project in the history of the country, have already delayedU.S.-based Newmont Mining's timetable for the mine. "We are interested in dialogue and the development of Espinar, butwe find ourselves facing a very radical opposition," Mines andEnergy Minister Jorge Merino said in a statement from his office. "There is a radical current that says no to Antapaccay and no toLas Bambas. This means they don't want mining, which isunacceptable," the minister said. Rivera said the company's Antapaccay copper project, which isessentially an expansion of Tintaya that would almost doublecapacity to 160,000 tonnes a year, is on track to open in lateAugust. The existing part of Tintaya is slated to end operations in 2014and Antapaccay would stay open to 2030 or beyond. Tintaya currentlyproduces about 90,000 tonnes a year of copper. Xstrata is also working on its $4.2 billion Las Bambas project insouthern Peru. It would produce an average of 400,000 tonnes ofcopper concentrate plus gold, silver and molybdenum byproducts. Thecompany's website says it would open by the end of 2014. "Las Bambas is in the engineering phase. Obviously any politicalnoise in the area affects all projects in southern Peru," Riverasaid. Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved SUBSCRIBE to Mineweb.com's free daily newsletter now. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as IMD Panel , CNC Machined Parts Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Injection Mold Parts today!
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