LIMA, April 11 (Reuters) - Protesters have agreed to

lift a road blockade on a key Peruvian transport route near the

Andean country's major Las Bambas copper mine, sources with

knowledge on the matter told Reuters on Thursday, after reaching

a deal with the miner.

The mine, owned by China's MMG Ltd ( MMLTF ), had faced a

fresh protest by local communities demanding greater benefits

from the copper mine, a major producer in a country that ranks

among the world's top suppliers of the red metal.

Protest leader Robertson Pacheco and a source close to the

company did not give details on the deal, but residents from

Velille, in Cusco's Chumbivilcas province, had according to the

source asked for an annual sum of 2 million soles ($544,218).

The company had previously offered 1.15 million soles for

2024/25 alongside technical assistance for development projects,

the source said - a deal two other communities, one in Cusco

and another in the Aprurimac region, had accepted.

Residents in Velille started protesting over a week ago

after a meeting with company representatives failed to provide a

solution, but as of Thursday, the mine's production had

according to a source not been impacted.

Though the protest had paralyzed the flow of trucks carrying

minerals through the country's so-called "mining corridor" to

the coast for export, an alternate route was being used to

supply the mine.

Las Bambas has faced frequent stoppages due to protests by

poor communities demanding more benefits from the nearby mines.

Since launching operations in 2016, the mine counts around 600

days of stoppages.

Last year, the mine nevertheless produced 302,039 metric

tons of copper, up from 254,838 tons in 2022, according to

government data. It typically supplies around 2% of global

copper supplies and is one of the top producers in Peru.

($1 = 3.6750 soles)