Protesters have suspended a blockade at Newmont Goldcorp Corp.'s Peñasquito gold mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, paving the way for fresh talks between Newmont and protest leaders, Francisco Quiroga, undersecretary of mines with the country's Ministry of Economy, said in an interview with S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The blockade, one of several to hit the mine in recent years, started Sept. 14 and has forced Newmont to shut down production. The company also confirmed the blockade had ended and said the shut down had cut Peñasquito's third-quarter production by about 11,000 gold ounces, 1.7 million silver ounces, 13.7 million pounds of lead and 22.8 million pounds of zinc. The third-quarter impact on a gold-equivalent basis was 51,000 ounces, Newmont said in an Oct. 9 news release.
Quiroga said Mexico's Department of the Interior was in contact with protesters, including local community members and truckers, and Newmont over a new round of direct talks. He was not confident a lasting solution had been reached but said he was very optimistic.
"The questions is not whether the blockade has been lifted," he said. "But whether it has been lifted for good."
While the blockade suspension could be temporary, he called the protesters' withdrawal a first step to talks as Newmont had made an end to the blockade a prerequisite for resuming negotiations. Newmont noted in its release that the move by protesters opens the door for government-sponsored talks to resume.
The blockade suspension comes after Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called for talks last week. Among demands, protesters have sought more investment in water and social infrastructure, while also raising concerns over the environmental impact of the mine.
But Newmont, which has said it agreed to past demands over those issues, has alleged that protesters are seeking financial gain through the blockade.
Quiroga, as Obrador, said any corruption was unacceptable and that a solution must resolve tangible issues like infrastructure. "There is a growing sense there will not be a transactional solution," Quiroga said.
Newmont has not yet restarted Peñasquito production, saying it would evaluate the situation and that it needed assurances protesters would not restart the blockade.
