In 2002…Monterrico Metals [part of Zijin]…start[ed]..development work for the huge open cast copper mine called Rio Blanco…In 2005, local communities marched on the mine site in protest against the company's plans…Twenty-eight protesters were detained at the site for three days and…were humiliated and tortured by the security forces…[T]he victims sued Monterrico in the UK…alleging that the company had been complicit in the affair. But though their prospects looked good, the case was settled by Monterrico…just before it came to trial. It meant the victims did get some compensation - but the wider problems they were fighting to reveal were never aired in open court…But it begs a disturbing question: If corporations will do anything to avoid going near a court - how can indigenous peoples ever assert their rights? [Report includes 2009 statement by Monterrico Metals that it "vigorously denies that any of its officers or employees were involved in any alleged abuses at the Rio Blanco exploration project site in 2005."] [also refers to Minera Yanacocha (joint venture Newmont & Compañía de Minas Buenaventura)]