Southern Copper says legal dispute over Peru's Tia Maria resolved
LIMA – Southern Copper's CEO said on Wednesday it had reached a settlement with a company in Peru that blocked development of its $1.4-billion Tia Maria project with a legal injunction.
Southern Copper's Oscar Gonzalez told Reuters he hoped the new government of Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra would issue a permit "soon" to allow construction work on the long-delayed project to begin this year.
It was unclear if Vizcarra's administration believed the project had enough support from surrounding communities, however. Such support is critical and one of the biggest obstacles to mining investments in Peru, the world's No 2 copper producer.
Tia Maria has been derailed twice - in 2011 and 2015 - because of deadly protests by farmers who fear the proposed open-pit mine will damage crops in the southern region of Arequipa.
When asked about Tia Maria last week, Vizcarra's prime minister said the government would not "impose" projects on communities.
Southern Copper said in its earnings report earlier on Wednesday that it believed Vizcarra's government would work to ensure "equitable investment conditions" that allow construction of Tia Maria to start this year.
Sociedad Minera Vania, the company that had filed a lawsuit against Southern Copper arguing that the Tia Maria concession overlapped with land it controlled, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Gonzalez said Arizona-based Southern Copper, controlled by Grupo Mexico, reached a settlement with the company in early April.
"The lawsuit has been resolved," Gonzalez said in a phone interview. "We hope the government will grant us the construction license soon and we would immediately start developing the project."
Peru's energy and mines ministry, which would issue the construction permit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation