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Copper production in Peru up 30.5% in April as Quellaveco ramps up output, ministry says

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(Kitco News) - According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru (MINEM), copper production in Peru, the world’s second largest copper producing country, amounted to 221,999 tonnes in April 2023, up 30.5% compared to April 2022 (170,168 tonnes).

MINEM said that this positive performance was mainly due to higher production by major local copper mining companies, including Southern Perú Copper Corporation (+70.1%), Minera Las Bambas S.A. (+58.9%) and Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. (+3.1%).

At the company level, Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. is first with an 18.5% share in total Peru’s copper output, followed by Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. (15.8%) and Southern Perú Copper Corporation (14.0%).

MINEM added that at the regional level, Arequipa is first with an 18.7% share in the country’s total copper production, followed by Áncash (16.0%) and Moquegua (15.8%).

In January-April 2023, Peru produced 837,514 tonnes of copper, which is an increase of 15.7% from January-April 2022 (723,931 tonnes).

The ministry noted that Anglo American’s new Quellaveco copper mine began commercial production in September 2022. In January-April 2023, the mine produced 82,196 tonnes of copper (January-April 2022: no production).

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By

Vladimir Basov

For Kitco News

Contact vbasov@kitco.com
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