By Marcelo Rochabrun and Marco Aquino
LIMA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Peru's Antamina copper and zincmine, which is part-owned by Glencore and BHP Billiton, said on Tuesday that protesters had blocked a road ituses, demanding that the company honor its commitments to thelocal area.
The demonstration is the latest in a string of protestsagainst mining companies that have broken out since PresidentPedro Castillo took office in July.
A road leading to MMG Ltd's Las Bambas copper minehas been blocked since last week by locals who also say the company has nothonored its commitments. Further down the same road, anothergroup of residents has placed a roadblock to protest HudbayMinerals Inc's Constancia mine.
Earlier this month, a protest at another Glencore mine, Antapaccay, was lifted after the mine and local residents agreed to begin talks on anew deal.
Those four mines account for over 40% of Peru's copperproduction, according to official figures. Peru is the world'sNo. 2 copper producer and produced 2.15 million tonnes in 2020.
Peru has seen rapid development in recent years, in part dueto the mineral wealth from the industry. But many in ruralcommunities in Peru's mining regions, who overwhelmingly voted for Castillo, say they have yet to see many benefits.
Pablo de la Flor, the head of Peru's mining industry group,said in a statement that it condemned "minority groups who carryout violent and illegal actions as a way of putting on pressure,threatening the rule of law and the social peace we need."
On Tuesday, Antamina said that protesters had blocked a road60 kilometers (37 miles) away from the mine, accusing thecompany of failing to honor commitments.
Reuters was unable to contact the protesters for comment.
The company denies the accusations and asked for freshtalks.
"Antamina calls for regional and national authorities tohave us restart a dialogue in a context of social peace andmutual understanding," the company said in a statement.
Earlier in the week, a community in Cuzco blocked a roadused by the Constancia copper mine, according to the MiningConflicts Observatory, a local nonprofit organization.
The road is also used by Las Bambas and has been blocked inanother place since earlier this month by communities demandingthe presence of Castillo to broker a deal with the company.
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)