Simon Montlake, Jakarta – Local activists protesting over land rights have lifted a siege of a 14-ton-a-year gold mine in Kalimantan, owned and operated by a unit of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd. (A.CRA), the company said Friday.

The agreement reached Thursday should allow the miner, PT Kelian Equatorial Mining to restart operations Monday while negotiations on land claims with community representatives continue, said spokesman Kasan Mulyono.

Kelian Equatorial, which is 90%-owned by Rio Tinto and 10%-owned by local partner PT Harita Jayaraya, suspended operations April 29 and has since managed only three days of production during a brief respite in the siege. "The road is now open again," Mulyono said.

The protesters are demanding compensation from Rio Tinto and the Indonesian government for land they allege was taken from them in the late 1980s. The siege cut off supplies of fuel and lime to the mine, which has only one access road.

Rio Tinto Indonesia says it has paid compensation twice in the past, but displaced communities claim that the amount was insufficient and that some households weren't compensated.

The company last month estimated it had suffered 20,000 ounces of lost production during the first three weeks of the siege. Mulyono wasn't able immediately to update this estimate.

The April 29 suspension was the first time that Rio Tinto has stopped production since it began operating the $250 million mine in 1992. It plans to close the mine in 2004.