Chinese miner MMG has halted shipments from its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru due to roadblocks by protestors.
The roadblocks have stopped supplies from getting through forcing the miner to suspend transport of its concentrates to port facilities for the first time in 2020.
The production at Las Bambas, one of the largest copper mines in the world, was impacted for over 100 days in 2019 as similar roadblocks affected logistics and reduced copper concentrate production by 20,000mt. However, the issue was resolved in September and the mine had been working without interruptions since October 2019.
Las Bambas reported an 11pc fall in output to 99,702mt of copper concentrate in the Q4 2019, compared to the same period of 2018 attributing the drop to the suspension of operations in the prior quarter.
The mining industry is one of the most important economic activities in Peru, which represents about 9pc of GDP and 60pc of the country’s exports. Copper and gold are the most exported metals, by value, from the country.