Mining companies are pushing for vast increases in copper mining. Often justified under the guise of the energy transition, the reality is that a wide range of destructive industries are driving increased demand. Copper is the second most widely used material by the US Department of War and is a crucial material needed in data centre hardware infrastructure fuelling a generative AI boom.
The chair of Rio Tinto recently claimed that the world will need to extract 700 million tonnes of copper in the next 20 years, “as much copper as humans have produced in a hundred thousand years of our history”. Anglo American and Teck Resources, two mining giants that are merging to form Anglo Teck, claim they are forming “a global critical minerals champion”, with a strong focus on copper expansions in Latin America.
These expansion plans willingly disregard how copper mining results in severe environmental and social harms, including contamination, crop failures and cancers. Such impacts have led communities affected by copper mining in Peru to take legal action against a German metals company. In November 2025, community members from the Moquegua and Ancash regions of Peru, with support from Misereor and Red Muqui, filed a claim against Aurubis in the German courts, accusing the company of failures in conducting due diligence on its supply chain. The harms associated with the copper extracted from their territories include water contamination and widespread health problems due to metals poisoning. Anglo American and Glencore are currently operating with impunity at the beginning of this toxic chain.
In this context, the UK naming copper as a key mineral for growth rings major alarm bells. The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy aims to “secure” vast increases of mineral supplies, anticipating that by 2035 “demand for copper will almost double”, while the US has classified it among its list of “critical minerals”. With the UK signing a new critical minerals deal with the US, which seeks to secure resources for defense industry stockpiling, the supply chains it aims to make more resilient must be put under the microscope.
At an event we organised at University College London in December 2025, the devastating impact of living in the vicinity of expanding copper mines was made clear, in testimonies from Estela Rojas and Lucio Flores, community members of Puerto Huarmey and Moquegua respectively.
“We are slowly dying, and nobody is doing anything” – Estela Rojas
Puerto Huarmey is a coastal town that sustained itself through fishing, but Antamina has had a dramatic effect on this. Excess waste water from the copper and zinc mine, owned by Glencore (alongside BHP, Teck Resources and Mitsubishi Corporation), is discharged into the forest of Huarmey, and local fishers can no longer depend on the waters around the port where the fish population has been depleted. The economic impact of this is unquantifiable, commented Beatriz Cortez, a lawyer for Red Muqui (a Peruvian organisation supporting communities impacted by mining). Fishers have been forced to expend more of their time and energy, putting their lives at greater risk sailing out to more dangerous waters, to bring back lower quantities of fish to sell and support their livelihoods.
Also unquantifiable is the impact of metals poisoning on a child’s life prospects. Estela Rojas shared her pain of caring for a grandchild suffering from arsenic contamination, which leaves them unable to sleep due to headaches. Cancer is also taking a huge toll on her family and many others in Puerto Huarmey. The high rates of cancer are notable and the community is sure the mine is having an impact.
With money at their disposal, explained Beatriz, the companies hire experts to exonerate their mining operations from responsibility for impacting community health, with questionable tests. But official studies (done in Chile) have confirmed that the high levels of arsenic found in the urine of children and adults in Puerto Huarmey are “inorganic” and are highly likely to be linked to the Antamina mine.
“If at this time we already see this level of harm, we are sincerely worried… because in my region the Peruvian state has approved 18 more mining projects!” – Lucio Flores
Toxic contamination from heavy metals is also affecting the population of Moquegua, in southern Peru. Pollution resulting from the Quellaveco copper mine (owned by Anglo American) is affecting the soil, resulting in lower peach and apple crop yields. As in Puerto Huarmey, local economic self-sustaining practices are being bulldozed in favour of mining operations, the material benefits of which are exported, leaving illness and destruction for local communities.
To facilitate its mining operations, Anglo American has diverted the natural course of the Asana river, one of the local community’s scarce sources of drinking water. Moquegua is one of the country’s driest regions, yet mining has been deemed a priority in the use of its precious water reserves – even according to Peru’s Minister for Agriculture.
In a recent development, communities in Moquegua have accused Anglo American of failing to comply with the agreement it made during the consultation period to construct a dam on the Asana river, upstream of the mine, to serve the local population. They say this dam is critical for their access to water and therefore the company must fulfil point 11 of the agreement, as well as the other commitments it made. Communities argue that Anglo American is prioritising the expansion of its mining project over the health of children in the area.
The Global North’s energy transition demands more copper, as well as nickel, cobalt and lithium. Jaime Borda from Red Muqui explained that the current trajectory will require more of these mining expansions, intensifying the environmental damage and health impacts faced by communities in Peru and throughout Latin America. His organisation recently published a position statement calling out this injustice and demanding a post-extractivist transition, rooted in restoring life, land, the environment and promoting buen vivir, or good living in harmony with nature.
If we are this affected now, we are really worried about the impact in the future, with the Peruvian government approving 18 more mining projects in the region, said Lucio Flores, president of the Moquegua branch of the National Agricultural Confederation. He came to the UK to raise awareness of his community’s case in the hope that it could spur change – the necessity of this could not be more urgent.
“To come to this country is as if a window of hope has been opened for us that our case can be heard” – Lucio Flores
During their time in the UK, Beatriz and Lucio participated in a roundtable chaired by Fabian Hamilton MP and attended by Baroness Coussins and Baroness Curran. Following discussion on the impact of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy on communities affected by mineral extraction—such as those in Peru—the attendees tabled parliamentary questions to the government. These questioned (1) the compliance of UK‑listed mining companies in Peru with international human rights standards, (2) the need for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence in light of increased demand for critical minerals, including copper as a growth mineral, and (3) the UK’s engagement with international partners regarding restrictions on civil society and the treatment of Indigenous Peoples and defenders affected by mining. The roundtable formed part of a broader campaign calling for a UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to strengthen corporate accountability. This campaign is a collaboration between Corporate Justice Coalition, London Mining Network and many other organisations.
This visit brought the harsh reality of copper mining to a UK audience, hammering home the injustice for communities living with worsened health, limited water, and reduced opportunities, while profits and benefits are exported to the Global North. Questions from attendees at our event prompted reflections on the impact of small-scale mining (who get more flack for dirty practices than the corporations), the political situation in Peru (which is seeing NGOs and other members of civil society criminalised for standing up to mining), and what meaningful solidarity looks like in order to face up to these major challenges.
Mining profits aren’t contained by state borders, and so international solidarity must mirror this, commented Beatriz. This event demonstrated the urgency of this solidarity work, which will continue as we seek justice and accountability from the companies who are ravaging their lands. Communities in Moquegua, Puerto Huarmey and beyond deserve reparations, repair and agency over the resources extracted from their territories. No more sacrifice zones in the name of the energy transition.
By Holly Jones, Diana Salazar and Jake Simms