Las Bambas stops operations again: what is happening at the copper mine in Apurimac?

Once again, MMG's Las Bambas copper miner decided to suspend operations this Monday in Apurimac, after protesters entered the company's premises, according to Raúl Jacob, president of the National Society of Mining, Oil and Energy (SNMPE) at a press conference. Let us remember that last December there were similar paralyzations that generated great economic losses, and that required the intervention of the highest authorities to reach an agreement.

According to Jacob, 130 people entered the Las Bambas facility last week. These are protesters from the Fuerabamba community who are claiming breaches of the agreements they had with the mining company.

Recall that Las Bambas represents 2% of the world's copper supply and is subject to recurrent disruptions by nearby communities, which demand greater financial contributions from the mine.

According to Richard Arce, a political analyst, these protests are due to a contractual agreement between the peasant community of Fuerabamba and the mining company Las Bambas. In 2011, both fronts signed a related framework agreement that is based on axes such as community development, agrarian development, education, health, among others.

The community members are complaining for a breach. “The problem is the absence of the State, because that private agreement between the community and the company must have had an endorsement from the authorities to follow it up,” explains Arce.

In addition, he points out that the community has been growing, and the initial agreements corresponded to 560 families at that time. While that number has grown considerably today and Arce estimates that they must be around 700.

THE ROLE OF MINING

At the conference, Raúl Jacob said that the mining sector has an extremely important and strategic participation in the process of economic recovery and development in Peru.

“Mining currently accounts for 9% of gross domestic product, 12% of private investment and 59% of Peruvian exports. In 2021, the sector gave the State, between income taxes, EMI, GEM and Royalties more than S/ 14.4 billion, almost three times what it used to contribute annually. Now, if we take into account all domestic tax contributions in addition to non-tax payments, the government has collected more than S/. 21 billion from the mining sector, according to Sunat,” he said.

He added that the challenge is to make the portfolio of mining projects feasible, which is estimated to require an investment of more than US$53 billion, whose execution will allow the generation of 2 million jobs, both direct and indirect.

“Considering the current situation of conflict, there is an urgent need for a space for analysis and discussion on the challenges of mining and its contribution,” he added.

MINISTERIAL VISIT

Last Saturday, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Carlos Palacios, urged members of the community of Fuerabamba and the operators of the Las Bambas mining company to maintain dialogue, in order to reach agreements regarding the disputes they face today.

Palacios traveled to that town, in the district of Chalhuahuacho, in Apurímac, accompanied by a group of specialists from the General Office of Social Management from the portfolio under his charge.

He noted that the Executive Branch maintains a firm position in favor of dialogue, with the aim of consolidating social peace in that area of the country, where the aforementioned mining project has direct influence.

The community members of Fuerabamba entered the premises of the company MMG, which operates Las Bambas, this weekend, located in Takiruta. The occupation was motivated, its leaders said, by the breach of commitments that the mining company had made in favor of the population.

After his arrival, Minister Palacios analysed the information obtained by the aforementioned entity and by the peasant community, in order to determine the status of the issues that were the subject of commitments.

In this context, the representative of the Executive Power urged both sectors to build consensus based on dialogue, and reach close agreements.

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