* Protests blocked road with knock-on effect for port shipments
* Talking to government to upgrade road
* China provides competitive, long-term financing, huge market
By Barbara Lewis
LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Copper shipments are resuming from the port of Matarani, miner MMG 1208.HK said on Thursday, after it began using an alternative route to bypass local protests near its Las Bambas mine in the Andes.
The remote mine, which started production late last year, has the potential to drive an economic recovery in Peru and help it become the world's second biggest copper supplier after Chile.
But it has attracted opposition.
Four communities in the Andean region of Apurimac refused to accept a deal the government struck with other towns to lift protests that shut down transportation from the mine, forcing MMG to start using an alternative route at the end of October. protest also halted Las Bambas' exports from the port of Matarani as stocks were depleted.
Andrew Michelmore, CEO of MMG, which is 74 percent-owned by China Minmetals Corporation, told Reuters in London MMG expected to use the detour for the foreseeable future, but it could not be a permanent solution.
A ship was loading at the port of Matarani, more than 700 kilometres from Las Bambas, and would sail "in the coming days," he said.
The four Quechua-speaking communities have demanded payment for the company's use of a road they say pollutes their lands when hundreds of trucks carrying copper concentrates pass by daily.
Michelmore said MMG was negotiating with the government for the route to be fully paved, which would reduce dust pollution, and added to the national road network.
"I believe the road will be nationalised. We're working with the government," he said, adding the route was strategic not just for Las Bambas but for other miners in the area.
The protests have not affected output at Las Bambas, which started production late last year, and is expected to produce 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of copper this year.
But stocks have accumulated at the site and that backlog would not be cleared until well into the new year, the CEO said.
He said the firm was committed to a good relationship with the local community, regarded as essential to a project with a lifespan of decades.
Although MMG is majority-owned by China, Michelmore said "98-99 percent" of employees at Las Bambas were local and Chinese involvement was why MMG was robust enough to weather volatile commodity markets.
As the consumer of just under half the world's copper production, China is a huge market and, as the major shareholder in MMG, a reliable financer, which has funded Las Bambas through an 18-year loan at a highly competitive rate, Michelmore said.
"Having banks who don't pull the plug on you is why this model is so powerful," Michelmore said. "You have to go through two (commodity) cycles. By the third and fourth cycles you make returns." (additional reporting by Rosalba O'Brien in Santiago; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)