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Peru expects $4.8 billion in mining investments this year and a slight increase in copper production

Jorge Montero, Peru's Energy and Mines minister, said that he expects the mining investment to reach $4.8 Billion this year and the production of red metal to be at 2.8 Mt.

In 2024, Peru produced about 2.7 millions tons of copper. This is a slight decrease from the previous year.

Montero, speaking at a media conference, also mentioned the alarming increase in informal and illegal mining, specifically in the Apurimac region and Arequipa region of southern Peru.

Top copper mine Las Bambas is controlled by a miner The mine is located in Apruimac. Teck, a Canadian mining company, is developing the Zafranal Copper Project in Arequipa with Mitsubishi Materials.

Rise of artisanal Copper Mining

The mines have brought the Andean Peruvians into conflict with large miners, but they've also created much-needed income.

Peru's north has also been dealing with an increase in illegal gold mining, including recent incidents.

The death of 13 miners. (Reporting and writing by Marco Aquino, Daina Beth Solon; editing by Sarah Morland, Natalia Siniawski).

(source: Reuters)