Southern Copper eyes steady production in Peru, bets big on new projects

By Marco Aquino

LIMA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Southern Copper SCCO.N expects its copper production in Peru to hold steady this year as it invests $800 million in projects, its chief financial officer told Reuters.

Peru is the world's third-largest copper producer and Southern Copper Peru, owned by Grupo Mexico GMEXICOB.MX, is the country's second-biggest, producing 414,000 metric tons in 2024.

"This year we're going to produce basically the same amount in Peru," Southern Copper Chief Financial Officer Raul Jacob said in an interview on Monday. He added that molybdenum and silver production would also remain steady this year, although higher prices were expected to boost revenue.

Southern Copper produced 13,400 tons of molybdenum and 177.2 tons of silver in 2024.

Jacob said the company, which operates the Toquepala and Cuajone mines, also planned to move ahead with new projects.

Tia Maria, a $1.8 billion project expected to eventually produce 120,000 tons of copper annually, could begin production by the end of 2027 and reach full capacity by 2028, he said.
The project has faced multiple delays due to protests. Tia Maria employed about 1,900 workers as of September, Jacob said.

Michiquillay, a $2.5 billion project expected to produce 225,000 tons of copper a year with a mine life of 25 years, is halfway into its exploration phase and targeting a 2032 start date.

The mine's copper resources are "better than expected," Jacob said.

"That's the budget we're working on. Obviously, as we get closer to the construction stage, we'll be updating it. It might increase a bit," Jacob said, referring to Michiquillay.

The Los Chancas project, in the Andean region of Apurimac, is still facing setbacks from protests by illegal miners.

"We prefer that the authorities take action," Jacob said, adding that they've identified 200 people working illegally around the concession. "There are illegal miners who have acted violently. They have burned down our camp twice."

Peru's government has given thousands of small-scale miners until the end of the year to formalize operations.