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Peru’s copper production should reach 3 million metric tons this year after hitting 2.76 million tons in 2023, energy and mining minister Romulo Mucho said in a news conference on Friday.
Mucho added that the government was working with Chinese miner MMG to reach agreements with local communities who oppose the Chalcobamba project at the Las Bambas mine, an expansion he said could help the mine in southern Peru eventually boost output to some 400,000 tons of copper annually.
Mining output in Peru, the world’s No. 2 copper producer, has been rising since 2023 after protests caused work stoppages. In January, Peru’s mining and hydrocarbons sector grew by 4% from the previous year.
Earlier this year, MMG predicted that Las Bambas would produce between 280,000 and 320,000 tons of copper in 2024, after putting out 302,033 tons in 2023.
Indigenous communities around Las Bambas mine have previously blocked access roads to call for more benefits from the mine. Some protesters are still camping on the grounds of the Chalcobamba pit.
“The development of Chalcobamba is important, and the ministry of energy and mines is intervening strongly in the company’s negotiations with the communities,” Mucho said.
Workers at Las Bambas, one of the largest copper mines in Peru, also went on strike late last year demanding better profit sharing and transport conditions.
The mining sector represents 60% of Peru’s total exports, but conflicts and resistance from local communities have paralyzed or delayed multi-million-dollar projects.
Mucho said Peru’s portfolio of mining investments has grown to $54.56 billion for this year, up 2.7% from 2023.
“We’re once again at peace, Peru has guarantees and respect for its investments,” Mucho said.
The minister, who took office in February after his predecessor stepped down, also said the government is working to tackle illegal mining, a headache for firms and the state as wildcatters encroach upon formal mining concessions and unsafe working conditions have left miners dead.
Last year, the government enacted a law giving wildcatters three months to reach an agreement with the holder of the concessions where they operate.
“A new mining formalization law is urgently needed,” Mucho said.
The government estimates that nearly half a million informal miners operate in the country, mainly mining for gold.
(By Marco Aquino and Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry and David Gregorio)
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