In December 2020, national copper production recorded the highest volume of the year, reflecting a significant recovery of 7.6% compared to the previous month and being very close to closing the year-on-year gap for the second time.

This was stated by the Ministry of Energy and Mines in its statistical bulletin updated as of December last year.

"In the last quarter of the year, the highest ore extraction was reported, representing 29.6% of the total produced in 2020. Despite this, a year-on-year contraction of 1.6% was obtained, going from 225,496 fine metric tons (FMT) in December 2019 to 221,980 FMT in December 2020", commented the Minem.

It added that due to the results of previous months, especially what was obtained during the first half of the year, total copper production in 2020 (from January to December) closed at 2'149,246 FMT, a value that represented a contraction of -12.5% compared to the 2'455,440 FMT of the same period of 2019.

Regions and companies

On the other hand, the Minem detailed that in 2020, Ancash ranked first in national copper production with a share of 18.6%. In second place was Arequipa with 18.3%, while in third place was Apurimac with a 14.6% share.

In terms of companies, Southern Peru Copper Corporation ranked as the first copper producer with a 19.7% share. Similarly, in second and third place were Compañía Minera Antamina and Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde with 18.4% and 18.0%, respectively.