Copper, Cerro Verde & Las Bambas (Peru)

Peru is the world's third copper producer, but its large mines are under foreign control, Freeport at Cerro Verde, the Chinese MMG at Las Bambas, and their output is exported as concentrate to Asian smelters. The road blockades by Andean communities, which regularly cut the Las Bambas corridor, are a reminder that the metal of the electric transition depends on a fragile social peace.