Peru’s Minsur risks restarting tin mine that leaves heavy losses due to protests

By Marco Aquino

LIMA, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Peru’s state-owned producer Minsur still perceives risks from operating its mine, which has been on shutdown since early January, resulting in losses of at least $118 million in mine sales. minerals, the company said on Tuesday, amid anti-government protests. and which according to their leaders could be reactivated in the coming days.

Minsur, which produces around 9% of the world’s tin according to the company, suspended operations on January 11 at its mine in San Rafael de Puno, on the border with Bolivia and where anti-government protests affecting key mines in the country.

Andean communities in the Andean district of Antauta whose businesses depend on the operation of the mine agreed Monday at a meeting to support the restart of San Rafael; But the risk centers on more remote residents with leaders who hold hardline positions and continue to block transport to and from the site, a company spokesperson said.

“We continue to speak with the leaders of all areas, we have to operate, there are 4,500 jobs at risk,” Minsur general affairs director Gonzalo Quijandría told Reuters in a message viewed on the matter. .

Anti-government protests began in December after the ousting of leftist President Pedro Castillo, including roadblocks mainly in the mining south of Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer.

Mines such as MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas in China, Glencore’s Antapaccay and Hudbay Mineral’s Constancia are operating with restrictions due to a temporary truce by Andean communities on the so-called ‘mining corridor’, but the situation could change at any time. .

The protests, in which they call for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the closure of Congress, a new Constitution and early elections, have left 49 dead in clashes and 11 dead in accidents linked to the blockages.

Roadblocks have dropped significantly, from more than 100 in January to 15 on Tuesday – and all of them in Puno – according to the local transport supervisor.

But a community leader in Puno told Reuters that people in his area are preparing for the next few days to resume protests with a new march to the capital Lima.

“Our program of struggle is maintained, it is invariable,” Edgar Chura, spokesman for the Puno Defense Front and representative of the Aymara population, said Friday by telephone.

San Rafael halted work out of “solidarity” and mourning the deaths of 17 people in Puno during a protest, but given the escalating conflict, Minsur said it halted operations indefinitely on January 13 due to security measures.

Only 430 workers are at the mine for essential care and maintenance work. The Minsur has made “an effort to preserve employment conditions and find ways not to harm their income, such as early vacations”, according to a company report sent to Reuters.

As a result of the suspension, an equivalent loss is estimated through Friday, February 24, “for fine pewter sales of $118 million” and an estimated equivalent loss to the state of approximately $31 million in taxes, he added.

“The main fear of the population is the reaction that could be provoked in the neighboring districts which have expressed their threats against the restarting of the San Rafael mine and against the district of Antauta for having authorized it,” the company said. .

(Reporting by Marco Aquino, Editing by Juana Casas)