BNamericas | 4 March 2026
Lupaka Gold sues Peru in the US to enforce nearly US$70mn ICSID award
The Canadian company Lupaka Gold sued Peru before the District Court of Columbia in the United States to enforce an ICSID arbitration award from June 2025 for around US$69 million (mn), in a case that reflects the risks that social conflicts pose to mining investment in the country.
The sum includes US$40.4mn for compensation plus interest and US$4.2mn in legal costs, also with cumulative interest until effective payment, and the company plans to file actions in other jurisdictions to enforce the ruling.
The company is confident that it will soon be able to seize Peruvian assets in the United States to collect the compensation.
The ICSID ruling concluded that Peru breached its investment protection obligations under the free trade agreement with Canada by failing to guarantee security in the face of massive protests by peasant communities that paralyzed the Invicta gold mine between 2018 and 2019.
According to the Mining Conflicts Observatory of Peru and the Ombudsman’s Office, conflict levels remain high in the country.
In September 2025, 160 active socio-environmental conflicts were identified, 61% of which were related to mining activity.
In recent years, projects such as Las Bambas in Apurímac and Tía María in Arequipa have faced prolonged shutdowns due to community opposition, which has generated multimillion losses and tensions between companies and the State.
These episodes show that social conflict is not isolated and that the lack of effective mechanisms for dialogue and prevention can lead to high-cost international arbitrations.
The compensation obtained by Lupaka in the award could open the door for other companies affected by blockades or shutdowns to turn to ICSID to claim compensation.
For this reason, the next government that takes office in July will have to design an effective strategy to strengthen its capacity for managing social conflicts and to ensure compliance with its international commitments, as well as the normal development of mining activity.
