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LIMA, Peru (AP) — Authorities in Peru say police fired on farmers opposed to a Mexican-owned copper mine in the country's south, killing one person and wounding 12.
Local health director Walter Vera said a 61-year-old man died from a wound in the lower abdomen. He said six of those wounded Wednesday were hospitalized and six were treated and released.
Farmers and local leaders oppose the $1.3 billion Tia Maria mine in the Tambo valley of Arequipa state. They fear the open-pit mine will contaminate irrigation water in the rice-growing district.
In 2011, three farmers were killed during protests against the project owned by Southern Peru Copper Corp., a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico.
The company says it will use Pacific Ocean water in the project and pipe it back into the ocean.
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