Business, Mining

Peru’s Copper Output Seen Posting Double-Digit Growth

QuellavecoPeru’s production of copper, the country’s biggest export earner, could post double-digit annual growth from 2013 to 2016, the local unit of Canada’s Scotiabank says.

Scotiabank says that output of Peruvian copper could grow 14 percent in 2013, 17 percent in 2014, 23 percent in 2015 and 20 percent in 2016, newspaper Gestion reported.

The forecast is based on the startup of new mine projects and expansions, which the government has said could more than double Peru’s copper production during the next five years.

New mines owned by Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata, China’s Chinalco and Canada’s HudBay Minerals are slated to start production in the next few years.

In total, copper projects account for about 60 percent of the $53 billion pipeline of investment projects that mining companies plan to invest in Peru.

It is unlikely that these projects will all be completed on time, as several have already been delayed due to social conflicts and permitting issues.

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