Peru Says Large-Scale Informal Copper Mining Exists And Could Grow

Peru’s government is acknowledging for the first time the existence of large-scale informal mining of copper, warning that high prices could see the activity grow in the near future.

The government is on alert for large artisanal mining of copper, especially in an area where mineral rights belong to the Las Bambas mine run by China’s MMG Ltd., Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Montero told foreign media in Lima on Tuesday.