Las Bambas resumes operations after prior agreement with the PCM and Chumbivilcas

Fourteen days after turning off its machines, and after having reached a prior agreement with representatives of the Chumbivilcas community and the PCM, the mining company MMG Ltd. resumed operations at its mining unit in The Bambas, in Apurímac.

According to the latest report from the Economic Operation Committee of the National Interconnected System (COES), on December 31, Las Bambas recovered the same electricity demand as before the stoppage of its activities, which occurred on Saturday 18.

The company had advanced to The Republic that, after signing the act with the communities in the project’s area of ​​influence, as well as representatives of the executive, led by Prime Minister Mirtha Vásquez, they would return to extract their copper concentrates in the first week of January.

“With this agreement, we are going to give all the necessary notices to resume operations. The complete cycle takes between five and six days, ”Las Bambas operations manager Edgardo Orderique told a La República reporter.

The Government, Las Bambas and communities will continue dialogue on January 18. Until the meeting arrives, the towns affected by the passage of 250 dump trucks a day agreed not to block the mining corridor.

This occurs on days when the copper a historic annual close is noted, after maintaining almost all of 2021 above US $ 4 a pound: a never seen annual average of US $ 4.2263, exceeding by 50.75% the average registered in 2020 (US $ 2.8034 ).

It is also the highest nominal price seen in at least forty years, since there are measurements. With this, it exceeded the mark imposed in 2011 (US $ 4) by 5.5%.

Internationally, base metals were on watch to finish more firmly this year after China experienced a financial rebound and lingering supply problems. Thus, three-month copper on the London Steel Alternate fell 0.6% to US $ 9,630 a ton, while the most traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Alternate fell 0.2% to 69,890 yuan ( US $ 10,965.20) per ton.