Southern Peru requested authorization to exploit the La Tapada pit in Tía María

Press release from the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

The Tía María mining project, located in the Arequipa region, has taken a significant step towards its reactivation with the submission of the application for authorization to exploit the La Tapada pit.

This was announced by Martha Vásquez, director of Mining Management of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, during her presentation at the Mining Thursday of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru (IIMP). This project, belonging to the company Southern Peru Copper Corporation, involves an investment of US$1.4 billion.

“Southern has already submitted its application to the Ministry of Energy and Mines for the authorization to exploit the La Tapada pit. There are two pits there: Tía María and La Tapada. And it has already started this procedure at the Ministry at the end of November,” said Vásquez.

It should be noted that the La Tapada pit is part of the Tía María mining complex and is located approximately 3 kilometers from the Tambo Valley, in the Arequipa region. This mining site stands out for its considerable volume of oxidized copper material, with a total of 425.34 million metric tons (MT). La Tapada is located near several population centers, such as the district of El Fiscal, just 3.7 kilometers away, and the population center of Cocachacra, 7 kilometers from the project.

Other advances

Vásquez also announced that the second Technical Support Report (ITS) for the Tía María project was approved last November, which represents an important step forward for its implementation.

“It is a restart that has brought some social conflict in the area, but we hope that it can be resolved through dialogue, by promoting these mechanisms that allow us to move forward. In July of this year, the Southern company announced its intention to restart the Tía María project and its second ITS was only approved on November 29,” he said at the IIMP event.

For his part, Raul Jacob , vice president of finance at Southern Peru, in his presentation at the XXII Peruvian Geology Congress, confirmed that the company expects to begin operations between April and May 2027. He said that at least 52 thousand people who live around the deposit are in agreement with the development of the project.

“Tía María is expected to have an annual production of 120,000 tons. The cost, well, we are reviewing it, but I can tell you that we are talking about more or less US$ 1.8 billion. That is the budget we have now to be able to finish the project,” said the senior executive.