By Marcelo Rochabrun
AQUIA, Peru, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The head of Antamina, Peru'slargest copper producer, looked to defuse tensions with ruralcommunity protesters on Friday, addressing residents in a localmeeting after a blockade forced the mining firm to suspendoperations last week.
Victor Gobitz, head of Antamina, part-owned by Glencore Plc and BHP Billiton , told residents at a townhall meeting in Aquia attended by Reuters that the two sidescould find common ground, a sharp shift from an earlier criticaltone.
Gobitz told reporters after the event that the two sides hadagreed to start formal talks from Monday.
"With orderly dialogue we will find the formula for adevelopment plan for the whole town of Aquia," Gobitz said atthe meeting, held in the town's bull fighting arena. "We have tolead by example that we can find common ground."
The tone was a marked shift for Gobitz, who initiallydismissed the protesters as violent and only representative of aminority of voices.
Protests against miners in Peru, the world's No. 2 copperproducer, have escalated in recent weeks amid high expectationsfrom rural communities emboldened by the socialistadministration of center-left President Pedro Castillo.
Castillo, from a peasant farming background, came to powerin July with massive support from mining regions, promising toincrease taxes on miners to promote local development.
The community in Aquia, located some 60 kilometers (37miles) from Antamina, had blocked a key road for the mine inlate October, before agreeing to lift the blockade aftergovernment talks earlier this week. Residents say the area receives little in terms of taxcontributions from the mine, although the company has a copperpipeline and road running through the town.
"We are not throwing a social tantrum," said Adan Damian,the president of Aquia, in remarks in response to Gobitz. "Ihave mixed feelings that after protesting so much we are finallybeing listened to."
Gobitz said Antamina would withdraw criminal allegationsagainst Aquia leaders and nearby residents made in the lead-upto the protests, and work to provide cellphone towers to thetown. He shook hands with local leaders at the meeting.
In his remarks to reporters after the event, Gobitz declinedto say how much copper production had been lost due to theprotests, although he said Antamina had yet to restart at 100%capacity and it was unclear when that could be achieved.
The CEO reiterated his earlier assertion that some protestacts had been violent but said that the company was drawing aline under that.
"We are putting that behind us," he said.
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Adam Jourdan,Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky)
Messaging: adam.jourdan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))