Quake halts Peru's Cerro Lindo, other mines fine

LIMA, Aug 17 (Reuters) A powerful earthquake that shook towns along Peru's Pacific coast late on Wednesday halted operations at the large Cerro Lindo copper, zinc and lead mine, but others in the mineral-rich nation were unaffected.

Pluspetrol, one of Argentina's top natural gas producers, said late yesterday it halted a gas plant in Pisco province as a precaution, even though the plant suffered no damages.

Shougang Hierro Peru, a Chinese-owned iron-ore miner, and Buenaventura, Peru's biggest precious metals miner, said operations were unaffected by the quake, which killed more than 400 people and destroyed homes.

''Operations at the Cerro Lindo mine are paralyzed because the road is blocked and the electric power is cut,'' Juan Alberto Flores, communications chief at owner Milpo, told Reuters by phone yesterday. Later, another official said Milpo was not sure when power would return.

Flores said no Cerro Lindo workers were injured or trapped during the quake, and mine installations suffered no damages.

The mine is Peru's fourth largest producer of zinc and lead.

Shougang said production at its mine has not been affected by the quake, though it did face a temporary power outage.

The mine normally produces 20,000 tonnes of mineral a day.

Buenaventura, which has three mines in Peru, said none of its operations were affected in any way. Buenaventura holds 43.65 percent of Latin America's biggest gold mine, Yanacocha, majority-owned by US-based Newmont Mining Corp .

Peru is the world's third-largest producer of copper and zinc, and mining accounts for more than half of its exports.

CANADIAN, US MINERS In Canada, mining companies including Barrick Gold Corp and Teck Cominco said yesterday their operations in Peru suffered no material damage from the quake.

Barrick operates the Pierina gold mine, 200 kilometers northeast of Lima, and Lagunas Norte, about 400 kilometers north of the capital. ''Our operations have not been affected,'' company spokesman Vince Borg said.

Teck Cominco said there had been ''no material effect'' to the Antamina mine, about 270 kilometers north of Lima.

Teck owns a 22.5 per cent of the mine, while BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Mitsubishi Corp own the rest.

Chariot Resources Ltd said its Mina Justa copper development, located closer to the quake's epicenter, was not affected.

Vena Resources, with four exploration projects in the country, said all its employees had been accounted for and that work would continue.

US-based Doe Run Co. said its Peru operations were running as normal. It has a smelter in La Oroya, 180 kilometers from Lima, and the Cobriza mine, 500 kilometers from Lima.

Reuters SZ VP0620