A Vancouver-based company is in the middle of a mining controversy that has pitted powerful financial interests seeking profits against the will of a town determined to maintain its way of life.

The tale includes an unsolved murder, riots and looting, propaganda battles and a disputed referendum.

The Roman Catholic Church has also weighed in with the mine's opponents, and the debate has even touched 'ceviche', Peru's national seafood dish.

On one side are the people of Tambogrande, a Peruvian farming community known for its limes and mangoes.

It has been steadfast in fighting to keep the mineral treasure buried and stop its hazy lowlands from becoming a huge mining pit.

On the other is Manhattan Minerals, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, which began exploring the area in 1997 and now believes the soils contain 900,000 ounces of gold, 10 million ounces of silver, 1.5 billion pounds of copper and 900 million pounds of zinc. At recent prices, that's worth US $1.6 billion.

A U.S. newspaper report said the publicly traded company, whose sole activity is in this region, has already invested at least US$50 million and must exercise its option on the project by next May.

It says the mine would provide US$200 million in taxes and royalties for Peru's government, which would have a 25 percent stake in the mine.

The company holds mining rights to 225,000 acres in four "concession blocks," among them a 24,700-acre plot that includes Tambogrande.

The separate blocks added together would roughly equal the area of Dallas.

Manhattan Minerals's Web site says the mine's environmental and social impact would be minimal.

In statements, company officials have promised to use cutting-edge technology and follow strict safeguards. They insist mining and agriculture can coexist.

The company also says the mine's annual payroll, including benefits, would be US$6 million and equal the current income of all of Tambogrande.

The project would create up to 2,500 construction jobs as well as 400 permanent jobs during the mine's lifetime, the company says.

But Tambogrande mayor Alfredo Rengifo says developing one ore deposit would mean clearing away most of the town center and another would require diverting a river.

Opponents say about half the town's 16,000 residents would have to move.

A news report said it's not the displacement that upsets Tambogrande as much as the belief that the mine's waste would pollute ground and surface water and destroy one of the most productive agricultural valleys in Peru.

There is also widespread suspicion that nearly all of the mine's profits would end up abroad and with the national government in Lima, Peru's capital more than 500 miles away, which historically has neglected the provinces.

In a non-binding referendum held by the municipality in June"delayed several months after the national government pulled out of sponsoring it " 98.6 percent of valid votes were against any kind of mining in Tambogrande.

In February last year, marchers trashed and burned Manhattan Minerals' offices in town and wrecked several model homes of the kind the company promises to build for uprooted families.

After the riot, some newspaper columnists and TV journalists in Lima suggested that Shining Path rebels were fomenting opposition to the mine, a claim ridiculed by town officials and residents.

"We may be ignorant, but we realize that agriculture is better for us than mining," says Sebastian Marquez, a town councilman and mango farmer.

"Agriculture won the vote and it must be respected. If not, the government is making a big mistake, because blood will flow. This is not terrorism or subversion " it is a town demanding that its voice be heard," he was quoted as saying.

A month after the riot, Godofredo Garcia, a farmer who had helped lead opposition to the mine, was shot to death in his fields by two hooded men.

There have been no arrests. The archbishop in nearby Piura later spoke out against the mine and urged peaceful demonstrations.

Last February, Tambogrande activists dressed up as limes marched through downtown Lima warning that pollution from a mine would mean an end to 'ceviche'.

The acidic juice from Peruvian limes marinates the dish's raw fish and provides its signature touch.