QUITO (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of residents and local leaders in Ecuador’s central Azuay province took to the streets on Tuesday to demand the suspension of a mining project by Canada’s Dundee Precious Metals, which they say will affect a vital water reserve.

The government of President Daniel Noboa had granted Dundee an environmental license to start building the Loma Larga gold mine there, but as community pressure mounted, the country’s energy minister in August suspended the start of construction work until Dundee provides an environmental management plan.

Provincial authorities reject the project, saying it will affect the region’s 3,200-hectare Quimsacocha reserve and its surrounding paramos – highland moors that act as giant sponges and supply the bulk of drinking water to maj

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