During the Peruvian presidential election, (Minem), the Ministry of Energy and Mines, released its latest data set, which showed that copper production in February 2021 increased by 0.7 per cent compared with last year.
According to the report, Peru produced 170989 tons of copper in the second month of this year, more than in the same period last year, but down 3.1 per cent from January 2021.
Antamina, which is owned by BHP Billiton, Glencore, Tektronix and Mitsubishi, accounted for 22% of production. The aluminum company of Chinalco Peru accounts for 12.4 per cent of total production; Glencore (Glencore) accounts for 0.4 per cent of Compania Minera Antapaccay,.
Copper accounts for 4 per cent of GDP in South American countries. As a result, Minem expects copper production to reach 2.5 million tons by the end of the year, an increase of 16 percent over 2020.
On the export side, copper increased by 21% in the first month of 2021 over the previous year. However, copper was far from its best performance compared with other metals, with iron ore exports surging by 132.4 per cent, molybdenum exports by 76.4 per cent, lead by 58 per cent and silver by 49.7 per cent.
Overall, mining exports contributed to Peru's treasury income of $2.5 billion in January 2021, an increase of 8 per cent year-on-year.
On the other hand, both exports and production of gold declined. Exports fell 14.2% in January, while production fell 25.5% in February compared with the same month last year.
According to the ministry, lower, Minera Yanacocha levels lead to lower productivity. Covid-19-related restrictions affect Minera Poderosa personnel, while sales of Minera Aur รญ fera Retamas are low. Together, the three companies account for more than 25% of Peru's total gold production.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines also reported that 607 metal and non-metallic mines were active in February, while 327 were in the exploration phase. These operations add up to more than 1.6 million hectares, accounting for 1.26 per cent of Peruvian land.
In terms of mining projects, 60 undeveloped areas and brown land projects are being explored, mainly gold, copper, silver and zinc projects, with a total investment of US $506 million.
