Peru, the world's no. 2 copper producer, has been roiled by demonstrations since the Dec. 7 ouster of leftist President Pedro Castillo, with road blockades restricting transport to and from key mines and some attacks on mine sites by protesters. A Reuters analysis of power use data by Las Bambas, which has been hit by repeated local community protests in recent years, showed a drop of nearly half starting on Wednesday, suggesting a significant reduction in activity already. Reuters reported earlier this week that while mines including Las Bambas had so far remained resilient despite the widespread protests, shutdown risks were increasing. A source close to Las Bambas had said that the mine risked fully running out of supplies by Wednesday, which would force it to move into a "care and maintenance" mode with machinery that would use half the normal level of power. MMG flagged late last month it may have to halt copper production at the mine by Feb. 1 if blockades continued to prevent the arrival of key inputs to the site. At normal times, the mine accounts for some 2% of the global supply. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Las Bambas: maintenance mode? Las Bambas: maintenance mode? (Interactive) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru and Adam Jourdan in Buenos Aires; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Subhranshu Sahu, Kirsten Donovan)
(Adds graphic and detail on Las Bambas power use)
Feb 10 (Reuters) - China's MMG Ltd said on
Friday its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru was able to secure
critical supplies, enabling it to continue production at a
reduced rate after road blockades prevented the arrival of key
raw materials.
"Levels of critical supplies remain low and should the
situation remain unchanged, Las Bambas will be forced to
commence a period of care and maintenance," the company said in
a statement.
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