Copper: shutdown for Peru’s Las Bambas mine

Chinese miner MMG will once again have to halt operations at its Las Bambas copper mine, one of Peru’s largest, as community protests in the neighbouring province of Chumbivilcas have affected supply logistics.

The blockade of public roads along Peru’s main copper transportation corridor has impacted concentrate shipments and the company’s sales.

While production at the mine continues, the company expects the ongoing disruptions will force it to halt operations sometime this week.

Roadblocks, often followed by shipping suspensions, have been a common problem affecting the massive 2015-16 copper mine.

Overall, the mine was disrupted for more than 100 days in 2019, with more than 70 communities along the 450km road to Matarani port demanding action from the MMG and the national government on truck emissions and the reduction of their farmland.

A three-week roadblock protest staged in late 2020 prevented MMG from exporting 189,000 tonnes of copper concentrate worth US$530 million from the mine.

Las Bambas is the world’s ninth largest copper mine, producing about 400,000 tonnes of the industrial metal a year, or about 2 per cent of global production.