Peru copper output edges down in 2024 to 2.74 million tons (updated)

MMG

14/02/2025 15:11

(Adds December output, production results for biggest miners)
       LIMA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Peru's mining ministry on
Friday said copper output in 2024 amounted to 2,736,150 metric
tons, down 0.7% from 2023. The drop marked the copper giant's
first decline after four straight years of recovery following
the pandemic.
    Industry sources had predicted Peru's copper output would
remain stable at around 2.8 million tonnes in both 2024 and
2025, due to declining ore grades and a lack of new projects.
    The Democratic Republic of the Congo overtook Peru as the
world's second largest copper producer in 2023. Congo has yet to
report its full-year production figures for 2024.
        In December alone, Peru's production grew 2.9% compared
to the year before, with more than 262,000 tons, according to a
report from the Mining Ministry. 
  
        Throughout the year, production slipped at some of the
country's largest mines. 
  
        At Peru's biggest mine, Freeport McMoRan's  FCX.N  Cerro
Verde  CVERDEC1.LM , output fell 3.7%. The company had
previously forecast that lower ore grades would impact 2024
sales volumes.
  
        Production edged down 0.3% at Antamina, controlled by
Glencore  GLEN.L  and BHP  BHP.AX .
  
        Anglo American  AAL.L  reported a bigger drop, of 4%, at
Quellaveco, while output at Glencore's Antapaccay plummeted
15.7%.
  
        In contrast, Southern Copper  SCCO.N  and MMG's Minera
Las Bambas  1208.HK  posted production increases of 11% and 6.4%
respectively. 
  
     
  

 (Reporting by Marco Aquino, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon,
Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
 ((daina.solomon@thomsonreuters.com;))