SMM News: according to foreign news on May 22, the London Metal Exchange (LME) copper rose slightly during the Asian trading session on Wednesday, as Minmetals Resources's Peruvian Las Bambas copper mine encountered a new round of blockade. However, trade tensions between China and the United States have limited the increase in copper prices.
A representative of the Peruvian Monitoring Office said that the people of the country's indigenous community, Nueva Fuerabamba, had decided to impose a new round of road blockades on the Peruvian Las Bambas mine owned by Minmetals Resources, which had previously failed to negotiate compensation with Minmetals Resources.
Americo Contreras, a representative of the Peruvian Inspector's Office, quoted government officials as saying that Fuerabamba plans to impose a new road blockade on the Las Bambas mine starting at midnight local time on Tuesday.
Indigenous communities blocked the mine's roads in the past two months, disrupting shipments of copper concentrate, and copper prices were boosted at the time.
Copper for three-month delivery rose 0.19 per cent to $6007.50 a tonne at 11-13 Beijing time.
The main copper contract for the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell 0.67% to 47390 yuan per ton.
LME three-month aluminium fell 0.17 per cent to $1796.50 a tonne. Shanghai Aluminum fell 0.46% to 14195 yuan per ton.
The Albras aluminum plant, which is partly controlled by Norwegian aluminium giant Hydro, began increasing production on Tuesday after obtaining permission from a Brazilian federal court to fully restart production capacity at the Alunorte alumina plant.
After a pollutant leak at the Alunorte alumina plant in February 2018, production was restricted by local regulators and courts and forced to operate at 50 per cent of capacity.
The Albras aluminum plant has also been operating at half capacity due to a reduction in the supply of raw materials. Hydro said in a statement that the plant was expected to resume full production in the second half of 2019.
