Mining

The growth of the mining sector, driven by a sharp rise in commodity prices, spurred Peru’s economy to the fastest sustained growth rate in Latin America during much of the past decade. The recent fall in commodity prices, however, has led to a significant drop in the value of Peru’s mining exports, and consequently, a slowing of GDP growth in 2014. The central bank lowered its outlook on mining growth for 2015 from an estimate of 9% to 6.5%. The sector is not expected to get an immediate boost in the form of rising production or commodity prices; however, in 2016 and beyond, several large-scale copper projects are expected to come on-line that could double Peru’s production of the mineral and add as much as 1-2% to the country’s GDP growth. The sector is also set to get a boost from zinc, silver and tin, other metals of which Peru has substantial reserves and for which global demand is expected to grow.

This chapter contains an interview with José Picasso, Chairman, Volcan Compañía Minera.