Newmont Goldcorp Corporation announced that it had temporarily suspended operations at the Peñasquito Mine in Mexico pending resolution of an illegal blockade by a trucking contractor and some members of the Cedros community that began on March 27, 2019.

“The company remains committed to good-faith dialogue with blockade leaders and continues working with Mexican authorities to resolve the situation in a safe, fair and timely manner,” Newmont Goldcorp said in a release. “A comprehensive contingency plan is in place to enable the safe and orderly resumption of operations once the illegal blockade is lifted.”

The Peñasquito Mine produced 272,000 ounces of gold in 2018 and operates according to national and international standards for safety, environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

The mine was owned by Goldcorp prior to the $10 billion merger with Newmont that was finalized in April. The operation located in Zacatecas about 480 miles northwest of Mexico City has an open pit mine and two processing facilities.

A similar blockade in June 2018 lasted two weeks.

That protest was led by truck drivers who said the company reneged on promises to hire locally, Reuters reported at the time.

A group of community land owners and a truckers’ organization also blocked access to the mine in September 2016.

Their demands included construction of a health clinic and a landfill, the drilling of several wells and the creation of jobs.