Miner asks Peru to remove protesters from its site

LIMA (Reuters) - Ares, a mining company run by Hochschild Mining, asked the Peruvian government on Thursday to remove protesting community members from one of its exploration projects -- the latest in a long string of conflict.

Townspeople living near the Azuca development, which is looking for silver, took control of the camp last month. The site is located in the southeast region of Cusco.

They say they are upset about potential pollution and contamination of water supplies stemming from the project.

Though the company says protesters just want the firm to leave so they would be free to mine informally.

"Ares roundly rejects the invasion is motivated by an environmental conflict ... and for that reason, it demands the intervention of the public ministry," the company said in a statement.

Residents in poor Peruvian towns often argue with foreign firms and the government over mining and energy projects. Periodically, violence erupts.

This week, three workers died in an attack on Chinese miner Zijin's controversial Rio Blanco copper project in northern Peru.

In June, three dozen people died near the town of Bagua, in Peru's northern jungle, as police broke up roadblocks set by indigenous groups opposed to oil and mining exploration on their ancestral lands.

Hochschild is the third-largest silver producer in Peru, which ranks No. 1 in the world for silver output.

(Reporting by Patricia Velez; Writing by Dana Ford; Editing by John Picinich)