Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otarola vowed to keep social unrest in check to allow mines to continue churning out copper and pave the way for investments needed to retain the nation’s status as the second-biggest producer of the metal. The government will defend Peru against lawlessness and the kind of disruptive protests that broke out late last year after the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo, the prime minister said Tuesday at the Perumin mining conference in Arequipa, a Peruvian city surrounded by giant copper deposits. “Whoever says Peru isn’t a mining country is an ideologue — mining is essential for ... (full story)