Freeport McMoRan’s Cerro Verde mine
According to figures from the Peruvian Mining Statistical Bulletin, October 2023 copper production totaled 240,097 metric tons (mt) of fine copper, an increase of 1.9% compared to October 2022 (235,725 mt). Several copper mining companies posted notable increases in production, including Compañía Minera Antapaccay S.A. (+35.5%), Hudbay Perú S.A.C. (+8.7%) and Southern Perú Copper Corp.’s Peruvian Branch (+6.6%).
Likewise, the year-to-date production through October 2023 totaled 2.25 million mt of fine copper, an increase of 14.3% with respect to the same period in 2022 (1.96 million mt of fine copper). As far as overall copper production, Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. remains the leading producer with a 17.6% share, followed by Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. and Southern Peru Copper Corp. with 15.5% and 13.5% of the total share, respectively.
At the departmental level, Arequipa remained the leading copper-producing region with 17.8% of the total production, which is where the Cerro Verde mine is located. Meanwhile, Moquegua occupied the second position with 16.7%, which is where Anglo American’s Quellaveco operation is located; and Ancash was third with 15.8% of the total production, which is home to the Antamina mine.
