Peru mining investment falls 15% in first 2 months

Mining investment in Peru, the second largest copper producer in the world, reached US$558mn in the first two months of the year.

According to the energy and mining ministry (Minem), despite overall investment falling 15.5% year-on-year, investment in mining-related infrastructure rose 13.9% in the two months to US$109mn.

The largest investors in January and February were Anglo American, Marcobre, Compañía Minera Antamina, Southern Copper and Minera Chinalco.

The largest investment, US$162mn, went to Moquegua region, where Anglo’s Quellaveco copper project is located. Quellaveco is the biggest open-pit copper project under construction in Peru and should start operating in 2022.

Southern Copper, meanwhile, is completing the detailed engineering for the expansion of its Ilo smelter and refinery, and is finishing conceptual engineering for the expansion of its Cuajone mine, according to a company executive.

Marcobre is working on putting into production, this month or May, its US$1.6bn Mina Justa open-pit copper project in Ica region, another of the large projects under construction.

Minera Chinalco is working on the second stage of the Toromocho expansion, a porphyry copper deposit in Junín region, which is due to start up next year.

And Antamina plans this year to optimize equipment and modify auxiliary components in the concentrator at its copper-zinc mine in Áncash region, in central Peru. Antamina is controlled by BHP and Glencore.