Freeport ups stake in Peru copper mine Cerro Verde

US mining company Freeport McMoRan increased its stake in Minera Cerro Verde, which operates the Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru's Arequipa region.

Freeport's latest financial statements show that the company bought 5.3mn common shares in September, increasing its stake from 53.6% to 55.1%. Prior to this purchase, Sumitomo Metal Mining owned 21%, Buenaventura 19.6% and AFP Integra 0.36%.

“This gives us further exposure to this established, long-lived, high-quality asset,” Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk said during the results presentation.

Consolidated copper sales volumes in the third quarter from the company's South American units, Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile, totaled 293Mlb (133,902t), down from 307Mlb in 3Q23. Of the total, 237Mlb came from Cerro Verde and 56Mlb from El Abra.

Quirk said, “Cerro Verde has a public market listed on the Lima stock exchange, and we are interested in buying more if there is an opportunity to do so. There were some funds interested in selling, and we were able to acquire those shares. If there are opportunities to buy more, we are interested in doing so, but it also requires a willing seller.”

Minera Cerro Verde has also invested in modifications and is preparing expansions. In February, the company submitted a technical sustainability report to environmental certification service for sustainable investments Senace, proposing works for US$645mn. Senace approved the report in May.

The miner is also preparing a second modification of the environmental impact study (MEIS) to extend the useful life of the mine from 2045 to 2053, investing US$2.1bn. Senace is currently reviewing the citizen participation plan, the step prior to the formulation of the MEIS.

Production

Although output fell in 3Q24, Freeport maintained a processing rate of 420,000t/d. The company also signed a four-year agreement with a second workers' union in October.

In January-September, South American sales volume amounted to 879Mlb, down from 913Mlb a year ago. According to the results, Freeport expects units in South America to account for 1.2Blb of the red metal this year, which is why 4Q24 output must reach at least 321Mlb.