On the 11th May, in the beautiful city of Ayabaca, Northern Peru, between 3000 and 4000 people marched the streets protesting against the activities of the British mining company Monterrico Metals (owner of Mineria Majaz) in their province. Shouting slogans such as "Majaz, Majaz, nunca explotaras" (Majaz, Majaz, you never will exploit) , "La tierra es de Ayabaca, no de Inglaterra" (The land belongs to Ayabaca, not to the UK) and "Agro Si, Mina No" (Agriculture yes, mining no). A peaceful river of people flowed to the central square.
Under a burning sun several people made a speech on the filled central square. Leoncio Jiménez, priest and president of the Mesa de Concertación de la Lucha contra la Pobreza, said the people are united for a just cause and are not violent. He asked miners and officials to respect the dignity of the villagers. He pledged for a referendum, which would imply the people to be informed in an objective manner.
The mayor of Pacaipampa, Juan Manuel García, acknowledged that it is a scientific fact that the cold highlands (páramos) of the province are an unique ecosystem that produce the water for the region. These páramos are threatened by the mining projects.
Magdiel Carrión, president of the Federación Provincial de las Comunidades Campesinas, denounced the militarization of his district of Yanta. Supposedly guarding the border, the military has a threatening presence at a five days walk from Ecuador. He also said that “they” offered him money, but “how could he accept when his family lives in this province?”
Also present were Mario Tabra, president of the Frente de Defensa del Medio Ambiente, la Vida y el Agro; Práxedes Llacasahuanga, Ayabacan provincial mayor; and others.
After the march there was a participative conference with representatives from communities of the province. The meeting was about the problems and challenges the region faces. Among other things they denounced the ‘internal colonisation’ of the mountain regions. The objective of these kind of meetings is to develop an alternative development strategy, thus reducing the attractiveness of potential mining investment.

Source: El Tiempo

Monterrico Metals plc is a London based resource development company that operates exclusively in Peru. Monterrico Metals owns 100% of Minera Majaz SA which owns the Rio Blanco copper/molybdenum deposit (Rio Blanco) located in Northern Peru. Rio Blanco has enough resources to become the country's second largest copper mine, after a planned 2008 start date.