BOGOTA -- More than 600 Embera Indians have occupied a hill in northwestern Colombia in an effort to block a mining project.

The protesters live in Embera communities that believe Careperro, a hill considered key to the mining plan, is a sacred site, the Antioquia Indian Organization, or OIA, said.

U.S.-based Muriel Mining Corp. started "prospecting and exploration" work about a month ago on the hill, which holds gold, copper and molybdenum, the OIA said in Medellin, the capital of Antioquia province.

Muriel did not carry out a genuine consultation with the mainly Indian and Afro-Colombian inhabitants of the areas in Antioquia and neighboring Choco province that will be affected by the company's Mande Norte project, the OIA said.

In addition to obtaining permits from the Colombian government, mining companies looking to operate on ancestral Indian or black lands must win approval from the communities via public hearings.

Muriel resorted to plying a handful of local leaders with food, liquor and offers of money to secure their assent to the mining initiative, the OIA said. EFE