Lawmakers from Peru's ruling Liberal party on Thursday submitted a bill to nationalize copper mine developments and create a state-owned company to operate Las Bambas, which accounts for 2% of the world's output, BNAmericas reported.
Bill 2259, proposed by Margot Palacios, a member of parliament for the far-left Liberal Party, seeks to "regulate the exploitation of existing copper resources on the territory of Peru", which has an estimated 91.7 million tonnes of copper reserves.
Therefore, paragraph 4 of the Act proposes the establishment of the National Copper Corporation as a legal entity under the private law with exclusive rights to explore, develop and sell.
However, the bill states that at present the cost of mining damage repair and existing liabilities are "the responsibility of the company producing these consequences".
The bill also authorizes the company to "renegotiate all existing contracts to accommodate existing regulations."
Under section 15, the bill also proposes the creation of the state-owned Bambas Corporation, Exclusively operates copper mines in the indigenous communities of Huancuire, Pumamarca, Choaquere, Chuicuni, Fuerabamba and Chila in cotabambas Province, Apurimac region.
To be precise, these communities are currently in a stand-off with MMG, which operates the Las Bambas copper mine, accusing it of failing to meet its social development commitments and forcing a 50-day halt to production at the mine.
Workers from MMG have marched in Lima, Cuzco and Arequipa. Anibal Torres believes the conflict is due to the refusal of community members to sit down and negotiate.
However, mining companies in other regions have been affected by social conflicts because of allegations of environmental pollution or lack of prior consultation with surrounding communities.
The bill, proposed by the Liberal Party, would also give the proposed national copper Company 3 billion soles ($800m) to cover the costs of its various subsidiaries.
In addition, article 10 stipulates that private companies currently producing will be evaluated to determine their net worth, debt reduction, tax exemption and benefits, "value of underground resources not yet paid for, profit repatriation and environmental rehabilitation costs".
The bill stresses that companies "must ensure that ongoing activities are not interrupted."
The company's board of directors includes three representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, two from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Two representatives from the Mining Faculty of the Universidad Nacional and six from indigenous or community representatives.
