Restart of Peru's Tía María copper project faces further hurdles

Pre-construction activities at Tía María, Southern Copper's long-delayed project in Peru, restarted on Monday but local opposition remains strong and the outcome is uncertain.

As with a previous announcement that construction will begin at the end of 2024, the communities within the area of influence – Valle del Tambo in Arequipa region – were the last to find out about the latest decision to restart the project, which could hinder dialogue with groups that are opposed to extractive activities.

"It's dangerous. Projects cannot be imposed by advertisements on networks and/or publications in newspapers, especially those that have already seen several protests and deaths,” former energy and mines (Minem) minister Miguel Incháustegui told BNamericas.

After the leak of the Southern Copper document, local media reported that community leaders in Valle del Tambo will push ahead with protests against the US$1.4bn project, demanding that President Dina Boluarte keep her promise that it will not be built. The reports also say it is not the first time that the company has issued this type of announcement in an attempt to unlock the initiative.

“I hope that something additional is being worked on – meetings with local authorities, a proposal for a social fund, formal dialogue, among others – so that the protests aren't so big and the project can move forward. With these documents [leaked to the media] it seems that we’re watching the same movie over again,” added Incháustegui.

Tía María, in Arequipa’s Islay province, is designed to produce 120,000t/y of copper and would have a useful life of 20 years. The project has been halted for more than a decade and was the target of violent protests in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

MESSAGE CONFIRMED

On Saturday, local press published a Southern Copper internal document in which Óscar Gonzalez Rocha, CEO of parent company Grupo México, said activities prior to construction will restart this month given that the social and political conditions to do so are in place. In mid-May, CFO Raúl Jacob said construction is estimated to begin late 2024 or early 2025, with the aim of starting commercial operations in 2027.

The document was later confirmed by Guillermo Vidalón, head of public relations at Southern Copper Perú, on social networks. “Tía María's announcement, although it has been communicated internally to the staff, constitutes significant news for everyone, for the residents of the Tambo valley who choose employment rather than speeches without any technical support,” Vidalón said via LinkedIn.

The resumption of activities was also ratified in a statement sent to Peru’s securities regulator SMV, saying work will restart on Monday.

CONTROVERSY

Although the start of construction is still scheduled for the end of 2024 after an evaluation of the equipment and validating engineering studies, among other issues, the following months will be key for the viability of the project. 

Residents of Valle del Tambo have told the press that the reports took them by surprise. “It is a media announcement that has already been made on previous occasions and has further strengthened our rejection,” community representative Julio Cornejo told a Lima radio station. Sergio Meza, spokesperson for farmers in Valle del Tambo, told newspaper La República that the company knows there is no social license for the project.

“The disclosure – even internal – of a document with these characteristics and signed by the president [CEO] is rare. The dates mentioned are very premature,” José de Echave, former head of environmental management at the environment ministry and founder of the NGO CooperAcción, told BNamericas.