Peru's government will respect contracts and agreements reached with the company promoting the giant Conga copper and gold mine in northern Peru, but is also reviewing various aspect of the contested project, Prime Minister Salomon Lerner Ghitis said.

In a broadcast interview Monday, Lerner said that the government will respect the "rule of law."

Protesters have demonstrated against the Conga project, demanding that Minera Yanacocha SRL suspend work on it due to concerns about water supplies.

The project is a test for the fledgling government of President Ollanta Humala, and how it handles social unrest.

Peru is one of the world's largest producers of gold, copper, zinc, silver and other minerals, but various projects have in the past been delayed or stopped due to unrest tied to community protests.

Minera Yanacocha SRL is 51.4% owned by Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), while Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN, BUENAVC1.VL) has a 43.7% stake. The International Finance Corp. owns the remainder.

The government approved Conga's environmental impact study in October 2010.

"There is a contract signed and the environmental impact study was approved," Lerner said.

He said the government is evaluating various aspects, including those tied to water and electricity, in order to ensure that "the project will be emblematic of responsible mining."

Minas Conga will require an investment of $4 billion to $4.8 billion. Production at Conga is scheduled to begin in 2015, with average output during the first five years of 580,000 ounces to 680,000 ounces of gold and 155 million to 235 million pounds of copper.

-By Robert Kozak, Dow Jones Newswires; 51-1-99927 7269; peru@dowjones.com