Peru Ends the First Quarter with Higher Copper Production

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Researched by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Peru closed the first quarter with higher copper and iron production, though other metals saw lower outputs.

The Peruvian mining ministry reported copper production of 615,500 fine metric tons (FMT) in the first quarter, about 11.2% more than last year. The higher production was mainly boosted by the volumes of Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde (Arequipa, Peru) and Southern Peru Copper Corporation (Lima) and the start of operations at Anglo American's (London, England) Quellaveco mine in September. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for related project reports.

Peru is the second-largest copper producer in the world, only behind Chile. Moreover, the strong outputs are a positive outcome for the country, as Peru faced operational setbacks due to protests earlier this year, especially in the south of the nation, that impacted the operations across the sector.

Like copper, iron registered a positive output in the first quarter with a volume of 3.7 million FMT, about 32.3% higher than last year. Nevertheless, other metals such as gold (-2.8%), zinc (-12.5%), silver (-9.5%), lead (-5.1%), tin (-68.7%) and molybdenum (-9.2%) saw lower volumes year on year.

Between January and February, Peru exported almost US$2.5 billion worth of copper, about 27.6% less than during the same period last year due to lower shipments. The red metal accounted for 26.2% of all Peruvian exports in the first quarter. Almost 68% of Peru's copper exports were sent to China, followed by Japan with 6.1%, Germany with 4.9%, and other nations accounting for the remaining volumes.

Meanwhile, investments in the mining sector in the first three months of the year were US$835 million compared to US$1.03 billion in the prior year. Despite the drop in investments, mining exploration registered a 13% boost compared to first-quarter 2022.

The continuation of mining investments in Peru is critical, especially following the political crisis that the country lived through in December and January following the arrest of former president Pedro Castillo and the establishment of the new government of Dina Boluarte.

Last month, minister of energy and mines Oscar Vera met with companies in the sector to guarantee stability and incentivize higher investments amid the political situation.

"National and foreign business groups have expressed their confidence in the actions of the government. This gives us peace of mind because this sector is very important, and mining is the main economic activity in the country as it generates work and income for the state through taxes," said Vera about the meeting.

Finally, Peru is seeking to attract more funds for 47 long- and mid-term mining projects across the country, which could account for more than US$53 billion in investments.

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