According to statistics from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines, in the first eight months, Peru’s copper output totaled 1.77 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.1%.
Currently, the largest copper mine in Peru is Cerro Verde, with output in the first eight months of 317,629 tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. The mine is owned by American company Freeport McMoRan.
Ranked second is the Antamina copper mine, with a cumulative output of 274,285 tons in the first eight months. Due to the decline in ore grade, the year-on-year change in output is also large.
In addition, ranking third is Southern Copper, which operates the Cuajone and Toquepala copper mines. The cumulative output in the first eight months was 237,329 tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.9 %.
The Quellaveco copper mine produced 196,141 tons in the first eight months, making it the fourth largest copper mine in Peru. The mine has produced a total of 290,000 tons of copper in the 11 months since it was put into operation in December last year. The annual output is expected to be 310,000 tons to 350,000 tons.
The output of Las Bambas copper mine in the first eight months was 194,797 tons, making it the fifth largest copper mine in Peru.
The total output of the above five copper mines is 1.22 million tons, accounting for 69% of Peru’s total output.
In 2023, Peru's annual copper production is expected to reach 2.8 million tons.