Spotlight: Mixed fortunes for Peru's big copper producers in 2024

Copper production by companies operating in Peru has fluctuated significantly this year. 

While mining companies such as Cerro Verde and Las Bambas saw output drop in the first four months of 2024, others such as Southern Copper and Anglo American reported double-digit growth, according to figures in the latest report by the energy and mines ministry (Minem). 

The report shows that monthly national copper production was down 8.2% to 203,905t in April compared with the same month of last year, a decline that trimmed the increase in cumulative production for January-April to 0.4% (845,044t) compared with the first four months of 2023.

According to Banco de Crédito de Perú (BCP), part of the April drop was due to the fact that many mining units were undergoing maintenance works, but five of the big mining companies reported lower production for January-April.

BNamericas takes a look at the performance of the major copper miners across the country.

The increases

The Minem report says that only Southern Copper (Group México) and Anglo American showed growth in copper output both in April and in the first four months of the year. 

In the case of Southern Copper, which operates the Cuajone and Toquepala mines, April production was up 15.3% year-on-year to 34,019t and grew 18.8% in January-April, reaching 139,073t, accounting for 16.5% of total national output.

Anglo American, which operates Quellaveco in the Moquegua region, saw production climb 12.9% year-on-year in April (25,664t) and 18.8% year-on-year in the first four months of 2024 to 97,629t. 

This year, the miner expects to produce between 300,000t and 330,000t of copper, and has already established itself as the fourth largest producer in the nation, contributing 11.6% of the total output of the red metal.

Finally, Antamina, whose shareholders are BHP (33.75%), Glencore (33.75%), Teck (22.5%) and Mitsubishi Corporation (10%), saw a sharp drop of 24.3% in production in April (29,005t), but the figure for January-April was 2.0% higher at 134,862t.

The decreases  

Several mining companies reported drops in production in the four-month period of the year. 

Although Cerro Verde, controlled by US company Freeport McMoran, remains the leading copper producer in Peru, accounting for 17.2% of the total with 145,305t in January-April, its output was down 6.4% year-on-year and also fell 4.8% in April alone. 

Mine executives had already anticipated that production would decline in the first few months of 2024 due to lower ore grades.

Meanwhile, Chinese-controlled mining companies Las Bambas and Chinalco reported production drops in January-April. Las Bambas' output slipped 5.6% year-on-year to 78,714t and Chinalco's fell 17.4% to 55,755t, according to Minem.

Finally, Antapaccay (Glencore) and Marcobre (Minsur) recorded the largest drops in production in April, with Antapaccay's tumbling 47.5% to 7,260t, while Marcobre's production dived 46.9% to 6,772t.