Peru Says Committee Work To Start Soon On Southern Copper Project

LIMA, Jul 16, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- The office of Peru's prime minister said that a committee in charge of revising the environmental impact study for Southern Copper Corp.'s (SCCO) Tia Maria copper project will begin working within 10 days.

The committee, led by the Ministry of the Environment, will have 90 days to present its final findings, the government said late Thursday.

Southern Copper suspended work at its Tia Maria project earlier this year in order to allow the committee to report on various aspects of the project. Anti-mining protesters, led by some local mayors, had blocked a southern section of the Pan American highway, claiming any mine at Tia Maria would hurt the environment.

Southern Copper plans to spend $934 million on the Tia Maria project, which is seen producing 120,000 tons of the copper a year.

Peru is the world's second largest copper producer.

Southern Copper has mines in Peru and Mexico.