HK-listed MMG to cease copper operations at Peru mine

Miner MMG Ltd said on Friday it would cease copper production from its Las Bambas mine in Peru by mid-December, as it failed to establish commercial relationships with the Peruvian residents of the Chumbivilcas community organisations.

The Hong Kong-listed company said that no resolution was reached at a meeting on Nov. 30 between the Peruvian government and the community due to what the company views as 'excessive commercial demands'.

MMG, a unit of state-owned China Minmetals Corp, has faced repeated disruption to shipments from Las Bambas due to local community blockades in recent years. In July, it flagged that production in 2021 was expected in the low end of its 310,00-330,000 tonnes forecast.

Las Bambas, which produces 400,000 tonnes of copper a year and about 2per cent of the world's copper, brought in about 69per cent of Hong Kong-listed MMG's revenue in 2020.

The looming shutdown of the mine comes as miners and smelters hold negotiations on copper concentrate supply deals for 2022.

Stockpiles on the site have now increased to around 50,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate, the company said in a statement.