LIMA (Reuters) – Protesters in Peru attacked a convoy of vehicles from the Las Bambas mining group, one of Peru’s largest copper producers, and set fire to some of them, underscoring tensions in the country that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The miner, owned by Chinese firm MMG Ltd, said in a statement late on Monday the convey had been moving through a mining area near the city of Espinar in the Cusco region when the vehicles were intercepted, stoned and two were burned.
Peru is the world’s no. 2 copper producer and its economy relies heavily on exports of the red metal, especially to top buyer China. The Andean country’s economy has been one of worst affected in the region by the coronavirus outbreak.
The protesters “are violently demanding an economic benefit that is not linked to Minera Las Bambas, and that has caused riots in the area,” Las Bambas said.
“They sprayed gasoline on the vehicles and proceeded to set them on fire. The drivers of both units, who were threatened by the protesters, suffered personal injury and are currently in a safe place, being treated to verify their state of health.”
Las Bambas produces some 400,000 tons of copper per year, or about 2% of global extraction of the metal.
Communities near Espinar launched a protest last week against the Antapaccay copper miner, controlled by Glencore, and yesterday blocked sections of a mining corridor in the southeast of the country, according to reports by non-governmental organization the Mining Conflict Observatory.
The public ombudsman office separately said in a recent report that Espinar social organizations were planning to start a protest on July 15 demanding a solidarity bond of 1,000 soles ($285) from the Antapaccay mining company.
Reuters could not immediately reach representatives for Antapaccay for comment.
Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Bernadette Baum