Peru Gold Mine Shut by Farmer Protests

[struggle4progress]

By CARLA SALAZAR
Tuesday, August 29, 2006

LIMA, Peru - Production at Latin America's largest gold mine was at a standstill Tuesday amid mounting criticism from Peru's business sector over the government's refusal to remove farmers blockading the facility's access road.

The farmers, meanwhile, insisted that their protest is over alleged depletion and pollution of water supplies and not because they want Yanacocha to provide them jobs, as the company maintains.

Officials with the Yanacocha gold mine, majority owned by Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., announced the shutdown late Monday, saying operations were impossible ...

The dispute centers on the Carachugo gold pit, the latest expansion of Yanacocha's operation, which uses cyanide and massive amounts of water to extract gold from ore piled on impermeable barriers designed to prevent toxins from seeping into the ground. On Friday, Yanacocha suspended construction of the Carachugo project _ set to start production at year's end _ because of the protests ...

http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2006/08/29/ap/business/d8jqcqeo0.txt