Protesters in Peru break into Hochschild mine, cause interruptions

LIMA (Reuters) – Residents of an Andean community in Peru broke into Hochschild Mining Plc’s Inmaculada gold and silver mine, the company said on Saturday, causing interruptions and putting the safety of its workers at risk.

London-listed Hochschild Mining said in a statement that residents of the Huancute community in the Ayacucho region on Friday night broke the metal fence to the mine and attacked the vehicles with stones.

While the incident interrupted the flow of internal operations at the mine, a company representative said it “did not paralyze production.”

Reuters was unable to immediately contact leaders from the community for comment. Residents from the area last year demanded that the company close its mining operations – which it rejected.

Protests from poor communities against big mining companies are common in Peru. At times, these have led to temporary closures of operations in the world’s second-largest copper producer.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Sandra Maler)