Peru Cabinet seeks solution for Las Bambas crisis as leftists urge nationalisation
LIMA – Peru's Cabinet was meeting on Friday to try and find a truce to the ongoing conflict that has paralyzed operations at MMG's Las Bambas copper mine, as some left-wing lawmakers suggest nationalizing the company would be the solution.
Operations at Las Bambas, one of the world's largest copper mines, have been at a standstill since April 20 by protesting members of the indigenous Huancuire community that has settled inside company property.
Late on Thursday, left-wing lawmakers from the ruling Peru Libre party presented a bill to nationalize copper production in Peru, the world's No. 2 copper producer, including troubled Las Bambas. The bill is unlikely to go through in the current conservative-led Congress.
Leftist President Pedro Castillo will lead "an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers to address the situation and the problems of the Las Bambas mining project," on Friday, according to a government press release.
Defense Minister Jose Luis Gavidida said he was ready to launch a military operative that would remove the protesting communities and restore operations at the mine, but that this needed Cabinet approval.
"A military and police intervention needs to take place to restore the rule of law," he told local news outlet Canal N. "We are ready to intervene."
The Las Bambas conflict, which has already left 3 000 without jobs, worsened this week after a fire broke out in part of a mine camp following clashes between police and community members. The company blamed the protesters, but the community of Huancuire denied any involvement in the fire. Read full story
Castillo's government has struggled to appease protesters since taking office last July. Castillo was elected with massive support in mining regions amid pledges to better redistribute mining profits.
Comments
The
functionality
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation