Peruvian Mining Industry and the Quellaveco Project
In the fourth quarter of 2022, investment in Peru‘s mining industry totaled US$1.65 billion, US$77 million lower than in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
By company, the following investments stand out:
Anglo American Quellaveco, decreased its investment to 205 million compared to 409 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, due to a lower disbursement in the areas of benefit plans and infrastructure at its Quellaveco Mining Unit.
At the same time, Antapaccay reduced its investment by US$77 million, derived in part from lower disbursements in the mining equipment and infrastructure areas.
Finally, Shouxin, which ranked third, decreased its investment by US$15 million, as a result of an adjustment in the amount of its investment due to provisions and write-offs of obsolete assets.
In 2022, Peru’s metallic mining sector contracted by 0.2% due to a 10.7% decrease in zinc levels, explained by lower production at Compañía Minera Los Quenuales due to the depletion of the Iscaycruz unit and lower ore grades at the Nexa and Antamina units.
Silver decreased by 7.6% due to lower production at the Los Quenuales, Ares and Buenaventura units.
Mining Industry
Buenaventura’s Uchucchacua unit implemented measures to improve operating efficiency that decreased mine output.
Molybdenum extraction decreased 7.5% due to lower production at the Southern and Las Bambas units.
On the other hand, higher copper production increased 4.1%, driven by the entry into production of Quellaveco and higher extraction at most mines, with the exception of the Antapaccay, Southern and Las Bambas units, with operations suspended at the Southern and Las Bambas units for more than 50 days in 2022 due to social conflicts.
By 2023, the Peruvian government expects the recovery of the primary sectors, particularly in metallic mining: a positive effect is projected due to projects that have recently started operations, such as Quellaveco, and from the reactivation of mines that were paralyzed in 2022 due to civil unrest.
In April 2023, some private investments have been ratified, such as Antamina’s US$2 billion expansion (an increase from the US$1.6 billion announced in 2022), Rio Tinto‘s «La Granja» project and First Quantum Minerals with an investment of US$5 billion, among others.
