The Andean country produced more than 2.7 million metric tons. This is the first decline after four years of recovery from the effects of the pandemic.
Peru's copper output totaled 2,736,150 metric tons in 2024, a marginal drop of 0.7% from the previous year, the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported Friday, the first decline after four years of recovery from the effects of the pandemic.
Industry sources said late last year that Peru's copper output would remain stable at around 2.8 million tonnes in 2024 and 2025 as declining ore grades at large mines and a lack of new projects are limiting growth.
Peru fell to third place in global copper production in 2023, after being overtaken by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Chile is first globally.
The African country has yet to report its full-year production figures for 2024, although it produced 2,592,521 tonnes of the metal between January and November last year, according to data from the country's central bank.
The drop comes despite supply rising 2.9 percent year-on-year in December to 262,452 metric tons, the ministry said in a report.
At the company level, production at Minera Cerro Verde, controlled by Freeport McMoRan and the largest copper producer in the country, fell by 3.7% last year to 449,096 tons. Its contribution represents 16.4% of the total local copper supply, according to the ministry.
The company had previously forecast lower ore grades would impact 2024 sales volumes.
Production at Antamina, the country's second largest producer and controlled by Glencore and BHP Billiton, also fell by 0.3%; Anglo American's Quellaveco fell by 4.0%; and Glencore's Antapaccay fell by 15.7%, the ministry said.
Among the top 10 mines, those that reported an increase in production were Southern Copper, of Grupo Mexico with 11.0% and Minera Las Bambas, of the Chinese MMG Ltd with 6.4%, according to the official report.
Lower copper grades after decades of mining at high-grade deposits are challenging Peru's miners to maintain output amid a big shortfall in the next decade due to anticipated demand for the metal for electric cars, renewable energy and data centers.
A dramatic change in production is unlikely in the near term without major new mines under construction.
The last new deposit was Quellaveco, which came into operation in 2022 with an investment of 5.5 billion dollars and now represents 11% of national production.
Among the new projects is Tía María, which is expected to produce 120,000 tons per year from 2027. The plan belongs to Southern Copper, which this week raised its budget for its execution to 1.8 billion dollars.
Also in the works is the Zafranal project by Teck Resources and Mitsubishi, which is expected to produce 126,000 tons per year from 2029, after an investment of 1.26 billion dollars, according to the government.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines reported this week that the value of all Peruvian mining exports totaled $23.454 billion in 2024, 1% more than the previous year, mainly due to a better price for copper and gold.
