(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 251,744 tonnes in December 2022, up 19.8% compared to December 2021 (210,106 tonnes).
MINEM said that this positive performance was mainly due to higher production by major local copper mining companies, including Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. (+8.1%), Southern Peru Copper Corporation (+2.6%) and Minera Las
Bambas S.A. (+84.8%).
At the company level, Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. is first with a 19.2% share in total Peru’s copper output, followed by Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. (18.8%) and Southern Peru Copper Corporation (14.0%).
Importantly, MINEM said that Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. (December production of 43,496 tonnes of copper), Southern Peru Copper Corporation (34,941 tonnes) and Minera Chinalco Perú S.A. (26,792 tonnes) registered their highest production levels at the end of 2022.
MINEM added that at the regional level, Áncash is first with a 19.4% share in the country’s total copper production, followed by Arequipa (19.0%) and Apurímac (10.5%).
According to a report, in 2022, Peru produced 2,438,631 tonnes of copper, which is an increase of 4.8% compared to 2021 (2,326,035 tonnes).
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