Copper miner Las Bambas, one of the largest in Peru, resumed the transportation of concentrates to a port in the south of the country and is now operating normally after security forces cleared a road that had been blocked by local farmers, an official with the company said, according to Reuters.
Las Bambas, located in the Andean region of Apurímac and controlled by MMG Ltd., a subsidiary of the Chinese corporation Minmetals, said its production was not affected and the mine was operating normally.
A route through the Yavi Yavi area is the only one the mining company can use on its way to the Matarani port, located in the southern region of Arequipa.
The inhabitants of the community of Fuerabamba, located in the area of the mine, claimed payment for the use of the road or the purchase of its surrounding land, and that the government had “illegally declared” it as a national highway, according to their representatives.
Transit has been restored on the sections of the public highway in the province of Chumbivilcas that were blocked, specifically on the stretch of road that crosses the district of Velille, Colquemarca. The company is operating without major problems, and the logistics to the port was progressively resumed.
According to the company, the police and the armed forces unblocked the road after the government declared a state of emergency on that road some time ago.
Last year, Las Bambas produced some 453,000 tons of copper concentrate, making MMG one of the top 10 metal mines worldwide.
