Las Bambas copper mine is an

open-pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially ...

copper mine in the Cotabambas province of Peru. With over a billion tons of copper ore, the deposit is one of the largest in the world and produces 2% of global

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

. Las Bambas also produces

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

concentrates. Development began on the mine in August 2015 and production began in early 2016. The mine has resulted in multiple environmental conflicts between 2015 and 2022. About 15,000 people protested the mine during the early phases of construction, resulting in clashes with police who shot and killed four local people. There were continued protests in 2021-2022, when protestors blockaded the mine and complained that they received few benefits from the mine. Minerals and Metals Group acquired Las Bambas copper project from Glencore Xstrata plc. for US$5.85 billion.

White & Case White & Case LLP is a global white-shoe law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide. History The firm was founded on May 1, 1901, when two Wall Street lawyers, Justin DuPratt White, 31, a ...

, advised the consortium comprised by Minerals and Metals Group (62.5%), a wholly owned subsidiary of Guoxin International Investment Co. Ltd (22.5%) and CITIC Metal Co. Ltd (15.0%).

Production and Geology

The polymetallic mine is located at altitude of about 4000 meters above sea level in Challhuahuacho District of Cotabambas Province in the

Apurímac Region Apurímac is the name of: *Apurímac River, a river in the south-eastern parts of central Peru * Department of Apurímac, a region in the south-eastern parts of central Peru *Three albums by the German new-age band Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or ...

of the southern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. Production is about 140,000 tons of copper ore / day. The estimated mine life is at least 20 years. Las Bambas project also produces

concentrates. Both metals are transported to Puerto Matarani, first overland to a transfer station in Pillones followed by railways to Matarani Port. Geoservice Ingeniería prepared the

Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

(EIA) for expansion of the Pillones transfer station. GyM S.A, the largest construction company in Peru and a subsidiary of the Graña y Montero company, in 2012 was in charge of constructing the copper concentration plant with a capacity of 140,000 t/day. Production at the mine was scheduled to start in 2015 following an 80% confirmation completion of the project on 31 Dec 2014. The first production of concentrate out of the mine is expected to be in the first quarter of 2016.

Conflict

To make way for the mine, the Fuerabamba community was resettled into the city of Nueva Fuerabamba ( New Fuerabamba), which was built between 2012 and 2014. Golder Associates made the

(EIA) studies back on 2010, since then there have been two amendments to said studies one of them being carried by SNC-Lavalin on 2014, the amendment of EIA included updated project schedule, auxiliary components of the project and the respective water management system.

References

{{Coord, 14.0990, S, 72.3198, W, source:wikidata, display=title Mines in the Department of Apurímac Copper mines in Peru Open-pit mines Surface mines in Peru

Production and Geology

Conflict

See also

References