Argentines protest foreign companies

A Canadian company has suspended a proposed gold mining project in Argentina following a series of protests. Environmental groups and residents in the town of Famatina, near the proposed site where mining company Osisko wants an open pit goldmine say the mine would pollute the local water supply. "They will have to pass over our dead bodies," says Juan Carlos Rivero, a nut farmer in the north western province of La Rioja. Residents in Famatina fear the mine would take and possibly contaminate the water supply. "Water is worth more than gold", read one sign, a reference its scarcity in this arid region. The 800-person strong protests, along with similar protests in Peru, El Salvador, Chile, and Argentina where local communities demandedtheir interests take precedence over those of mainly foreign mining companies, forced Osisko to suspend exploration plans in Famatina for the time being.