Chinese miner expects to invest $2 bn in Las Bambas copper mine in Peru

Chinese miner MMG Ltd expects to invest $2 billion in the next five years to expand its troubled Las Bambas copper mine in Peru and is eyeing potential acquisitions to further increase production. Las Bambas General Manager Edgardo Orderique said at the company is hoping to double copper production by 2025 and double it again by 2030.
The mine is expected to produce 240,000 tonnes of copper in 2022, after years of production drops due to falling ore grades and social conflicts. Peru is the world’s No. 2 copper producer and Las Bambas is one of the largest producers of the red metal in the world.
Las Bambas opened in 2016 in the Peruvian Andes, but has suffered recurrent disruptions from indigenous communities who say its vast mineral wealth has not translated into better living conditions. Most of the disruptions affected copper trucking, rather than copper mining.
Las Bambas is currently trying to build a second pit but work has been halted due to opposition from the indigenous Huancuire community, which used to own the land where the project is slated to be built.
Orderique said he hoped that the pit can be built in the “following months” to compensate for falling ore grades at its current pit.
MMG has previously said it will not go forward with the project until it can reach an enduring agreement with the Huancuire community.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau Rough&Polished