July 11, 2012 - 3:38 AM
VANCOUVER - A Canadian company is protesting Bolivia's decision to revoke its licence to mine a rich silver deposit in the country.
The licence was cancelled Tuesday following opposition from Quechua Indians who had seized South American Silver Corp. (TSX:SAC) workers to press their case.
The Vancouver-based miner says it has not received any formal notice from the Bolivian government about the cancellation.
It also warned today that it will pursue all legal, constitutional and diplomatic options in the case.
On Tuesday, President Evo Morales presided over the signing of an agreement with two Quechua communities that opposed the project in the southern highlands.
The communities released two mining engineers over the weekend after holding them for 10 days. Three others engineers were held for five days before fleeing.
That followed a clash between police and Indians in which one activist died under circumstances that remain unclear.
South American Silver estimates the deposit's reserves at 140 million ounces.
The company says since 2007 it has invested more than $16 million in the discovery and exploration of the site in the Andean region of Malku Khota.
_ With files from The Associated Press.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012