Southern Copper Temporarily Halts Work at Tia Maria Project

The Wall Street Journal reported that Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE:SCCO) plans to temporarily halt development of its $1.4-billion Tia Maria copper project. The move follows nearly two months of “increasingly violent protests” that have left three people dead.

As quoted in the market news:

The protests had stalled the copper mine project in this mineral-rich country, putting President Ollanta Humala on the defensive as nationwide demonstrations spread amid growing calls for the project to be closed.

Mr. Humala, a one-time leftist turned market-friendly president, has found himself in a tough spot as he has struggled to control the protests in one of Latin America’s most investor-friendly countries. His popularity rating has fallen to 27%, in part because of opposition in rural regions, but analysts say he needs mine projects like Tia Maria to buoy a once fast-growing economy that has slowed. Suspending the project could have emboldened protesters, and earlier Friday Mr. Humala waved off recommendations that he take action against Southern Copper.

Then late in the afternoon, as protests again picked up in southern Arequipa state where the project is centered, Southern Copper CEO Oscar Gonzalez Rocha said in a public letter that the company would ‘pause’ the operation and work to resolve the concerns of residents over the next 60 days.

The news outlet quotes Rocha as saying:

A company that supports development and is socially responsible can’t be indifferent to the reality that directly affects the area where one of its projects is located. [Southern Copper is open to allowing residents to] present their worries and fears, to identify solutions, agree on a path and define the responsibilities that each one should assume.

Click here to read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.