Road blockade at Las Bambas Copper Mine is difficult to mediate or production will stop this week.

Peru's prime minister said on Wednesday that the 26-day road blockade affecting MMG's Las Bambas copper mine could not last "too long" as negotiations with the local community continued to stall and the mine faced an imminent shutdown.

Speaking of the conflict, Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez told reporters: "these conversations are sometimes delayed because it is not easy to reach a consensus. But we can't keep this situation for too long."

Since 20 November, residents of Chumbivilcas province have blocked the roads used by the Las Bamba mine because they have asked the company to provide jobs and economic contributions, saying that despite its great wealth, it usually does not benefit the residents.

The Las Bambas copper mine, owned by China's MMG, said it would have to suspend production completely later this week if the blockade was not lifted.

But the impasse in the negotiations means it seems unlikely to find a solution in the short term. Vasquez admitted that there was no progress in resolving the problem on Wednesday.

"the Chumbivilcas conflict is in a critical state because residents are negotiating with companies and they are unable to reach an agreement," she said.

On Tuesday, the government failed to carry out the meeting it had arranged between the two sides.

Victor Villa, legal adviser to Chumbivilcas province, said, Las Bambas's latest proposal was a "joke" and that they would not lift the road blockade in response.

Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer., Las Bambas is one of its largest mines, accounting for 2 per cent of the global supply of red metal.