Peruvian authorities warned on Tuesday that investors had been affected by the paralysis of several operations in the world's second-largest copper producer in the past few months and a rising wave of anti-mining protests in Peru.
Julio Bellard (Julio Velarde), governor of Peru's central bank, said the country's image as a safe investment destination was threatened. According to the local newspaper Gesti ó n, Velarde, who was sworn in as the bank's leader for five years, said the use of violence was unreasonable and supported the industry's call for the authorities to "restore order."
Since President Pedro Castillo (Pedro Castillo) took office in July, there have been growing protests that mining companies have failed to deliver on promises to support nearby communities.
They disrupted key operations, including MMG's Las Bambas, Glencore's Antapaccay and the Antamina Copper-Zinc Mine, the country's largest copper producer.
The country's National Mining, Oil and Energy Association says many protesters are calling for measures to limit mining at the source of the basin, ignoring that these areas are already protected by water laws.
The Peruvian National Association of Mining, Oil and Energy, an industry body, said on Monday that "we see this violation of the law intolerable, which poses a great risk to the lives of workers and people, as well as public and private property."
Community opposition between Peruvian Andean communities is strong and well organized. In 2016, they forced Newmont (NYSE symbol: NEM)) to abandon its $5 billion copper and gold Kanga project.
The company is expected to decide by the end of the year to invest in another project, Yanacocha in the northern region of Cajamarca.
Social unrest in Peruvian mining areas has heightened global concerns about imminent copper shortages.
The existence of copper banks on the London Metal Exchange earlier this month illustrates how the market has become nervous.
LME was caught off guard by the sudden emptying of available copper in its warehouses, causing inventory levels to fall to their lowest level since 1974. Free inventory in LME-monitored warehouses has fallen by more than 90 per cent in the past two months as orders have surged.
Copper, used in everything from building materials to batteries and engines, is both an economic bellwether and a key driver of renewable energy and electric vehicles. If producers fail to address the deficit, prices will continue to rise and pose a challenge to world leaders pinning their hopes on the global energy transformation to deal with climate change.
