Antamina copper-Zinc Mine, Peru's largest copper mine, suspended operations on Sunday because of continued roadblocks by locals who say the mine has not lived up to promises to support local communities.
The protesters are demanding Antamina pay compensation for the use of their land to transport the ore.
Antamina is currently jointly owned by BHP billiton (33.75 per cent), Glencore (33.75 per cent), Teck Resources (22.75 per cent) and Mitsubishi (10 per cent). The mine is expected to become the world's fourth largest copper mine this year.
"We do not want to see any physical clashes and believe that the government and its authorities need to take action to restore order," Antamina said in a statement.
It's the latest in a series of protests against mining companies since Peru's President Pedro Castillo took office in July.
Mr Castillo came to power promising new deals and a redistribution of profits to local residents at mines such as Antamina, MMG's Las Bambas and Glencore's Antapaca.
Peru's National Association of Mining Industries says many of the protesters are demanding measures to limit mining near water sources because most of it ignores water protection laws.
"Violations of the law will not be tolerated and put the lives of workers and citizens, as well as public and private property, at great risk," Pablo de La Flore, executive director of the Mining Industry Association, said in a statement.
Antamina's general manager, Victor Gobitz, said in October that annual copper production was expected to rise 11.8 percent to 443,000 tonnes this year, compared with 1.13 million tonnes at Escondida in Chile, the world's largest copper mine, and 620,000 tonnes at The Grasberg mine in PT Freeport, Indonesia. Chile's Coravasi produces 600,000 tonnes.
Antamina produced 302,958 tonnes of copper in the January-August period, up 25.6 percent from the same period last year, government data showed. In 2020, Antamina paid about 4% of the country's total tax revenues.
Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer after neighboring Chile and a major supplier of silver and zinc.
Social unrest in the country's mining areas has heightened global concerns about copper shortages.
According to CRU Group estimates, the copper industry will need to spend $100 billion in accelerated production to fill a 4.7m tonnes annual supply shortfall by 2030.
Changes in London Metal Exchange copper inventories earlier this month also illustrate the market's nervousness.
The London Metal Exchange has suddenly emptied its warehouses of available copper, leaving inventories at their lowest level since 1974. Inventories in LME warehouses have fallen by more than 90 per cent in the past two months as orders surge.
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 cars. If producers can't solve the supply problem, copper prices could continue to rise and pose a challenge to world leaders who are counting on a global energy transition to combat climate change.
