First up, Bloomberg via Mining.com, December 17:
Panama leaves door open to eleventh-hour deal for giant mine
A shock announcement by Panama to intervene in a privately run copper mine may not be as definitive as first thought.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. continues to mine the massive Cobre Panama open pit despite a government order to close commercial operations after talks for a new tax arrangement collapsed, people with knowledge of the situation said.
In addition, the administration of President Laurentino Cortizo hasn’t closed the door to a resumption of talks, they said, asking not to be named discussing private information.
That’s a less black-and-white picture than earlier in the week when Cortizo declared negotiations over and instructed the Commerce Ministry to put the mine on care and maintenance. The government was also said to be seeking another operator to replace Vancouver-based First Quantum....
....MUCH MORE
And moving further south, from the Washington Post, December 17, 3:30 p.m. EST:
Protesters in Peru refuse to back down as political crisis deepens
The political crisis roiling Peru deepened Saturday, as President Dina Boluarte’s new government edged toward collapse and protesters across the country refused to back down despite the military enforcing a state of emergency.
A total of 20 demonstrators are reported to have been killed in clashes with security forces, including eight allegedly shot Thursday by soldiers using live ammunition in the southern mountain region of Ayacucho.
Protesters have stormed several regional airports, looted businesses and blocked roads, primarily in the impoverished mountain regions of the Andean nation. Last year, those areas voted heavily for Pedro Castillo, a rural schoolteacher and former wildcat-strike leader, who was impeached as president last week after he attempted to dissolve Congress and restructure the judiciary.
The violence prompted two ministers to resign Friday from Boluarte’s government. She stepped up from the vice presidency to replace Castillo, and was also forced to announce Saturday that she would replace her current center-right technocratic cabinet.
Meanwhile, prosecutors announced investigations into the deaths of the protesters, and Peru’s official human rights watchdog called on security forces to ensure that officers had “sufficient experience, training and capacity to participate in the control of protests without committing abuses.”
The protesters, who have no clear leader, have a variety of demands, ranging from the reinstatement of Castillo as president to the establishment of a constituent assembly to restructure the economy to favor the poor.
The only common denominator is that almost the entire country — 83 percent of Peruvians — wants new elections and to get rid of the current scandal-racked Congress....
....MUCH MORE
News Australia is saying "Political crisis and unrest affect Peru’s economy" though we haven't actually seen a lot of that yet.
Peru's Andina News Agency says "Peru's Armed Forces: We have gradually regained normality on roads, airports and cities"
Finally, here's Mining Technology with the five largest Peruvian mines and their owners.
Although not listed because their production is spread between a few mines, Southern Copper is actually the world's largest copper miner based on reserves and the 7th or 8th largest based on sales. [brain spasm - the #4 mine on the list, the Toquepala Mine is a Southern Copper property, although it as listed under the parent company, Grupo Mexico.]
