Central Peru accounts for more than one-fifth of the country’s metals production, according to the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy (SNMPE). But the heavy rains of the last few weeks have disrupted rail transport from the central region to the Pacific coast, according to Reuters.
Vice President and Transport Minister Martin Vizcarra said on Monday it could take 15 or more days to repair the rail lines. Right now, the country is working with the mining companies to find alternative routes, said Vizcarra.
Speaking to local radio station RPP, Vizcarra said at least one kilometer of the rail line was destroyed by flooding from the Rimac river on the outskirts of Lima. “This railway was attached to the river bank,” said Vizcarra, according to Nasdaq. “We need the river flow, which is rising, to recede, and that will not happen in less than 15 days. Then, we will be able to install the line.”
The central region is home to Chinalco Mining Corp’s 300,000 ton-per-year Toromocho copper mine, Volcan Compania Minera’s zinc and silver mines and precious metals mines owned by Compania de Minas Buenaventura. An SNMPE spokesman said that right now, the warehouses at Peru’s El Callao port have enough supplies to fill orders for about 30 days.
However, the director of corporate affairs at Chinalco’s Peruvian affiliate, Alvaro Barrenechea, said that the company would be affected if the rail line isn’t fixed within the month. “I expect the situation will improve in 10 days,” he said, according to Mining Weekly.
According to Digital Journal on Sunday, Dimitri Gutierrez, a scientist with Peru’s El Nino committee, the country is in for at least another month of torrential downpours as the local El Nino phenomenon will likely continue along Peru’s northern coast at least through April.
