LIMA -(Dow Jones)- A third person has been reported dead Tuesday, after an attack this weekend on a remote mining camp in northern Peru.
The camp is operated by Rio Blanco Copper SA and owned by a consortium led by China's Zijin Mining Group Co. (2899.HK) The copper project has not yet entered production.
Yesterday Rio Blanco Copper said two security guards were killed in the armed attack by about 20 people early Sunday.
A third body, that of the camp administrator, was later found, said Rio Blanco's general manager, Jian Wu, on TV channel Canal N Tuesday.
Peru's mining ministry has condemned the attack saying it was "without justifiable cause."
In a statement, Peru's Deputy Minister for Mines Fernando Gala said Rio Blanco has no current permission to operate in the area of Carmen de la Frontera, and was only there for maintenance and reforestation work.
Tensions between the developers of the project and local communities have run high in recent years.
Opponents say the area around the planned mine has a fragile high-mountain climate. They add that water supplies needed for agriculture are threatened by mining.
More recently the company has been accused of hiring security forces who in 2005 allegedly abused protesters against the project--something the company denies any involvement in by its employees or officials.
-By Sophie Kevany, Dow Jones Newswires; 51-198-903-8043; peru@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 03, 2009 14:39 ET (19:39 GMT)