By late July, state-owned miner Chinalco says it will finish building a new city of paved roads and multi-story homes for 5,000 people currently living on the side of a giant red mountain of copper 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) above sea level.

Residents from the poor, ramshackle town of Morococha, where children attend school steps away from discarded mine tailings, will get access to amenities they currently lack, like modern water, sewage and electrical systems. They will all also own their homes and no one will need to pay rent.

Chinalco calls the new $50 million town the biggest privately funded social project in Peru's mining history and it may help the company avoid community opposition that has stalled other major projects, like U.S. miner Newmont 's $4.8 billion Conga project in the northern Andes.

Eoin Treacy's view There was great anxiety expressed prior to President Humala's accession to the Peruvian presidency but he has turned out to be a pragmatist. He appears to understand that the country's future rests in striking the best possible deal with those seeking to gain access to Peru's world class resources.

China has successfully insinuated itself in a number of African countries where infrastructure development has also been part of its access agreements. It remains to be seen how well it will deal with more activist protesters when inevitable hiccups arise.

The Peruvian Index has been largely rangebound since early 2011 and has been trending towards the lower boundary since briefly hitting a new high in April. It has lost momentum above 20000 and a sustained move below that level will be required to reassert supply dominance.