Las Bambas says not mulling legal action for now as Peru blockade continues

FILE PHOTO: General view of a mine operated by MMG Las Bambas, in a region where locals claim mining activity has negatively affected crop yields and killed livestock, outside of Cusco, Peru October 14, 2021. Picture taken October 14, 2021. REUTERS/Angela Ponce

LIMA (Reuters) - MMG Ltd's Las Bambas copper mine does not plan to initiate legal action against Peru "for the time being" over a nearly month-long road blockade that has prompted the miner to suspend operations, a company executive said Monday.

The current blockade has been in place since Nov. 20 by residents of Chumbivilcas province who complain that the mineral wealth of the mine simply bypasses them and want the company to provide more jobs and money for the area.

Peru is the world's no. 2 copper producer and Las Bambas accounts for 2% of world copper supply.

Las Bambas head of legal affairs Claudio Caceres said that company representatives planned to attend a government-convened meeting on Tuesday with the Chumbivilcas communities.

"Currently we're mainly committed to being able to restart a constructive and real dialogue, at the moment we're not thinking of taking legal action," Caceres said in an interview with local radio station RPP.

However, leaders of the Chumbivilcas farming communities had decided not to attend the meeting, according to investigative news outlet OjoPublico.

The Chinese-owned mine, which started operations in 2016 and has been a flashpoint of protests and road blockades since it began, suspended production indefinitely as of Saturday.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)