Blockade Shut Buenaventura Orcopampa Mine

17 June 2009 (Last Updated June 17th, 2009 18:30)

The chief executive of Peruvian miner Buenaventura said its Orcopampa gold mine has been shut for ten days by a blockade of people from surrounding towns, writes Reuters. "We work in an area where there are around five or six communities and they have formed a sort of union, which

The chief executive of Peruvian miner Buenaventura said its Orcopampa gold mine has been shut for ten days by a blockade of people from surrounding towns, writes Reuters.

“We work in an area where there are around five or six communities and they have formed a sort of union, which is something we have not seen before,” Buenaventura CEO Roque Benavides told Reuters at a mining conference in Lima, Peru.

He also said the labour union of employees at the mine, which produced 285,000oz of gold last year, is planning to go on strike on 24 June.

A union leader confirmed the planned strike and said workers are striking to demand higher wages.

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