15:22 | Lima, Aug. 23 (ANDINA).
Peru's Prime Minister Juan Jimenez said Thursday that Newmont Mining Corp.'s Minas Conga copper and gold project is on the "back burner" after entering a "phase of suspension."
Jimenez said now Cajamarca, where the project is located, presents a "different scenario" in which solving its problems is the key challenge. "Cajamarca is the only region of Peru that has not seen growth and is currently in recession," he added.
"The project has entered a new phase of suspension that the company has already decided on, and the government of course asked for," Prime Minister Jimenez told reporters in Lima.
Jimenez noted that the dispute over the development of Minas Conga has had a broader impact on business in the northern region of Cajamarca.
"We have entered into a different scenario," Jimenez said. He said businesses in the Cajamarca region have been negatively affected by the uncertainty around the project.
"We need to construct a positive agenda that would allow people to work in normal conditions," Jimenez was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.
Minas Conga has been at the center of protests by local residents and politicians that say it would harm the region's water supply, which Peru's government and Newmont deny.
Minas Conga would require an investment of approximately $5 billion, making it one of Peru's biggest mining investment projects.
Newmont has a 51.35% stake in Minas Conga, while Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA has a 43.65% stake. The World Bank'sInternational Finance Corp. holds the rest.
(END) INT/EEP
Publicado: 23/8/2012