Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) has ordered to miner Doe Run Peru to shut down its metallurgical complex, La Oroya, in the country.
The miner “couldn’t guarantee a working environment with favorable conditions for the development of its mining activities,” MINEM said in a statement on 11 July.
La Oroya is composed of a set of smelters and refineries designed especially to transform polymetallic ores in Peru’s central Andes into metals like copper, zinc, silver, lead, gold, and others. The miner has owned the La Oroya since October 1997.
The company’s averages annual sales of 55,000mt of copper cathodes standard grade, 120,000mt of lead ingots, and 42,000mt of zinc ingots, according to figures from the its website. Doe Run Peru exports its mining products to North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
The company did not respond to questions from Davis Index in time for publication.
Peru’s mining output fell by 45.7pc in May because of lower iron ore, copper, zinc, lead, and molybdenum production, for which the pandemic is to blame.
The mining industry is one of the most important economic activities in Peru, representing about 9pc of the country’s GDP and 60pc of its exports. Copper and gold are the most important exported metals by value.