Tia Maria copper mine project gets approval from Peru
The Tia Maria copper project in southern Perun received approval of its environmental impact study, ending a three-year pause on the $1.4 billion project.
Local residents halted progress at the large scale mine with concerns that the mine would hurt water supplies, but on Aug. 5 Peru’s Mines and Energy Ministry said it had approved the environmental impact study for the mine, one of the biggest mining projects planned in Peru.
Southern Copper Corp, one of the world’s biggest producers of copper, says the Tia Maria mine is expected to produce 120 kt/a of copper a year and will run for 20 years The Wall Street Journal reported.
"We will definitely be able to have production (at Tia Maria) start by the beginning of 2017," Southern Copper Chief Executive Oscar Gonzalez Rocha said in a recent conference call with analysts.
Gonzalez Rocha said the company will also have to receive construction licenses for the project located in the Arequipa region of southern Peru.
The company suspended work on the project following protests from residents concerned about possible damage to water quality. Southern Copper reworked its environmental impact study and held new public hearings.
Southern Copper operates mines, smelting and refining facilities in Mexico and Peru. Grupo Mexico SA B has a controlling stake in Southern Copper.
Peru’s government forecasts that Peru will produce 2.8 million tons of copper a year by 2016, about double its current production as a number of new projects come into production.
