Peru becomes leading copper mining country

Peru plans to maximize its raw copper output to three million tonnes by 2021, as it has the nation has become China’s number one supplier for the precious metal.

In recent news, Peru unveiled its Michiquillay copper project, valued at $2 billion. The huge buzz caused by the project has reached the point where it has already attracted its first bidder, Buenaventura.

The bidding company produced a whopping 127,000 tonnes of the precious metal last year, and now it shows its future aspirations to develop an infrastructure for the metal’s mining in Michiquillay.

The mammoth-sized project is in line with the role the Peruvian nation has taken on lately, earning the top spot as supplier for China, the Asian powerhouse . The spot previously was occupied by Chile. This year’s reports show that Peru provided China with 3.22 million tons of copper concentrates, while Chile only at 2.72 million. One of the factors credited to tipping the balance is the 44-day-long strike in Chile that paralyzed their mining efforts.

Roque Benavides, president of Confederation of Private Business Associations (Confiep) reported that “All these aspects help Peru benefit from any rise in metal prices [outside the country] since no benefit can be obtained without efficiency.”

Not only did Peru double its output of copper this year, but also managed to cover logistics costs through its grand-scale exporting efforts.

Former Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru, Cayetana Aljovín, reported that the government is looking to invest over $28 billion to help boost the copper industry in the nation.