News: BHP Peru's Antamina to meet government after protests halt mining operations

Peru's largest copper producer Antamina, controlled by global commodities giants Glencore GLEN.L and BHP Billiton (BHP) , said on Monday it would meet with government representatives to try to end protests that have forced it to suspend operations.

The president of the Antamina board of directors, Víctor Gobitz, said in a radio interview he would meet later on Monday with Peru's minister of energy and mines, Eduardo Gonzalez.

Antamina said on Sunday it had suspended operations due to roadblocks erected by demonstrators who say the mine has not lived up to its commitments to support local communities. The mining group called on the government "to re-establish order and for dialogue to resume."

"We cannot accept that a minority group imposes violence and controls things via villainy," Gobitz said in a brief conversation with local radio station RPP.

Antamina, located in the country's remote northern Andean mountain region, is Peru's No. 1 copper mine, producing some 396,200 tonnes of copper last year. Peru is the world's second biggest copper producer after neighboring Chile.

The demonstrations are the latest in a string of protests against mining companies since leftist President Pedro Castillo took office in July. Peru has seen rapid development in recent years, in part due to its vast mineral wealth.

But many in rural mining communities, who overwhelmingly voted for Castillo, say they have yet to see many benefits. Reuters was unable to contact the protesters for comment.