Peru expects huge boost in copper production in 2016

On Monday, the Peruvian government announced its copper production projections for 2016. The government expects production to rise by 65.5% to a total of 2.5 million tons, once the Las Bambas project comes online in February. According to Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines Rosa María Ortiz, after protests against the project turned violent in September, the mining company and the government have had productive and ongoing talks with leaders of the local community.

Minister Ortiz stressed that protests are no longer holding up the $7.4 billion project, and it should go ahead as scheduled. Reuters noted that if Las Bambas successfully comes online, it would set a new trend of projects restarting after being shut down by deadly protests. Newmont Mining’s Conga project has been paralyzed since 2011, and Southern Copper Corp’s Tía María project was shut down in May. Both projects were derailed by violent protests.  

Rosa María Ortiz also told the press that the new Peruvian president will have to strengthen he country’s norms against illegal mining so that the activity can be brought under control. She said, “We cannot stop fighting illegal mining because it does not just hurt the environment, but also brings other illegal businesses, like human trafficking, child prostitution, and gasoline smuggling.” According to the Minister, Peru has approximately 70,000 illegal miners, who produce 20 tons of gold per year.

Also looking to the future, Peruvian business journal El Comercio outlined six different possibilities for the Peruvian economy in 2016. The Peruvian government expects the country’s economy to grow by 4% in 2016, which is much more optimistic than the assessments of most outside analysts. El Comercio concluded that while the economy will grow in 2016, it will not reach its full potential.