The Mineral Metal Group (MMG), a Chinese mining company, has announced the recommencement of the transport of copper concentrate to Matarani port, Peru, on Sunday.
The company announced that roadblocks in the copper rich provinces of Chumbivilcas and Espinar provinces in Peru have been removed.
On February 4, the company had announced shipment delays as a result of community blockades, which temporarily disrupted transport.
Copper concentrate produced by MMG is transported by truck and rail to the port of Matarani in the Arequipa region, from where it is then shipped to customers worldwide.
The blockades that occurred on public roads affected several other producers using Peru’s copper logistics corridor, said MMG.
Cerro Verde, Las Bambas, Glencore PLC’s Antapaccay and Hudbay Mineral’s Constancia are some of the mines located in Peru’s copper belt.
The local community has demanded the impacted roads be “declassified” under its current status to ensure social and environmental commitments are met.
MMG claims Las Bambas, its joint venture with CITIC Metal, has fulfilled its commitments.
Las Bambas’ annual production is expected to be 350,000mt to 370,000mt of copper, in concentrate.
In October last year, Peruvian authorities had declared a 30-day state of emergency in Chumbivilcas.
Anti-mining protestors had blocked a stretch of the Southern Highway for a month. The protest nearly forced the halt of operations at La Bambas.