MMG mining copper at capacity in Peru and trimming stockpiles after protests

Las Bambas operation. (Image courtesy of MMG).

MMG Ltd. is producing at full capacity at its giant Peruvian mine as it runs down stocks of copper that had accumulated during community protests.

Stockpiles of semi-processed copper at the mine site are “being progressively reduced,” the company controlled by state—owned China Minmetals said in an emailed response.

One of Peru’s biggest copper mines is recovering from the latest spate of road blockades that forced it to shut earlier this year. Las Bambas has drawn the ire of surrounding indigenous communities since it started operations in 2016 in a remote part of the Peruvian Andes, enduring more than 500 days of road blockades.

On a call with analysts last month, MMG executives said they hoped to ship out stockpiled material by the fourth quarter. At the end of last year, the company had accumulated 85,000 metric tons of copper in concentrate on site.

(By James Attwood, with assistance from Marcelo Rochabrun)

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