SANTIAGO, CHILE�A good-news trip of trade and closer ties with Latin America will encounter the first signs of controversy this morning when Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits a Canadian mining operation that critics say will hurt the environment and local people.

A group of protesters led by the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts, a group that opposes Barrick Gold's Pascua-Lama mining project, is expected to meet Harper when he visits the Canadian corporation's Chilean base. The protesters argue that the project will displace the local indigenous population and cause environmental harm.

Harper said he is aware of the controversy surrounding the giant gold and silver mine, which sits high in the Andes and straddles the Chile-Argentine border.

But he gave it his backing yesterday in a news conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

"Barrick follows Canadian standards of corporate social responsibility," he said, referring to ethical guidelines for companies operating abroad.

"It will, of course, follow all rules that are in place in this particular project, and ultimately, any decision in that regard is for Chilean authorities."

Barrick is still seeking permits to get the multi-million-dollar project underway, but already it is accused of severely eroding three glaciers � a vital source of water for indigenous locals � by up to half of their original size. A number of lawmakers have called for an investigation into Barrick's exploratory operations, and have threatened to reconsider the project all together.

The local indigenous population has filed a complaint with the human rights arm of the Organization of American States arguing Barrick's operation threatens to make their land uninhabitable.