Hundreds of local residents of a fishing village blocked Peru’s main north-south highway with boulders this week to protest a major new copper and zinc mine. Juan Pacifico, the mayor of Huarmey, which is about 90 miles north of Lima, says the villagers aren’t convinced that adequate environmental protections are in place for the Antamina mine. Not surprisingly, the company running the mine says everything is in order and the environment will be protected just fine. The mine, which is owned by four multinationals, is expected to become the world’s seventh-largest copper producer and third-largest zinc producer.
