Jun 26, 2025 9:08 PM IST
US Stock Market LIVE Updates: Informal Mining Boom Is Biggest Fear for Peru’s Copper Investors
The biggest threat to Peru tapping more of its giant copper deposits is rising informal and illegal mining activity, according to the head of the country’s main industry association, SNMPE.
Peru has slipped to third in the global copper-production ranking and last year posted its first decline in output in five years. This year, it should be able to get back to growth, albeit slightly, and reach a record 3.4 million metric tons by decade-end, according to Julia Torreblanca, SNMPE’s President.
But much depends on containing informal operations that are encroaching on concessions — a trend that opens the door to criminal groups, Torreblanca said. More than 20 companies — including Southern Copper Corp., MMG Ltd., First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. — have been affected, with tens of billions of dollars in investments on the line that depend on the nation’s ability to navigate the issue.
