LIMA : 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, an executive said on Tuesday.
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. 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.
"The cost of the conflict since 2016 to date is of about 528 days of interrupted operations, almost a year and a half that we have gone through this situation," Orderique said.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.