Mining

The mining sector has seen its revenues increase significantly as Peru continues to ride the wave of a commodities “super-cycle”, bringing foreign reserves to an all-time high and sparking large-scale transportation and energy projects as production increases. As of June 2013, the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported an investment portfolio of $57.4bn. With the rich, polymetallic Andes as a source, Peru has an abundance of copper, gold, silver, tin, and zinc, among other deposits. Copper has attracted the majority of new investment in the sector, at some $36.37bn, or 63.36% of the country’s investment portfolio. Gold came a distant second at $7.18bn, or 12.51%, with iron ore close behind at $7.06bn. Long-term sustainable growth will depend on the stability of global commodity prices as well as the effectiveness of government strategies to address social conflict surround mining projects, illegal mining and a large infrastructure gap. This chapter contains an interview with Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, President and CEO of the Southern Copper Corporation.