Copper strip Sneakers by MMG Ltd suspended its operations after residents of the Fuerabamba community entered the company’s property as part of a protest, reported the president of the National Society of Mining, Oil and Energy (SNMPE), Raúl Jacob.
Las Bambas represents 2% of the world’s copper supply and is subject to recurrent outages by nearby communities, who demand higher financial contributions from the mine.
Jacob said that last week 130 people from the Fuerabamba community invaded Las Bambas, causing operations to be suspended.
According to Reuters, he was unable to contact a representative of the Fuerabamba community, a Quechua-speaking indigenous community that was resettled a few years ago to make way for Las Bambas in the Apurimac region.
Las Bambas is a member of SNMPE, which represents the country’s largest mines. Peru is the world’s second largest producer of copper.
The new conflict in Las Bambas comes at a time when Southern Copper Corp.’s Cuajone mine has been suspended since late February after residents of nearby communities cut off the company’s water supply.
With information from Reuters
