en.Wedoany.com Reported - Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) has received approval from Peru's National Environmental Certification Agency (Senace) to invest $318 million in upgrading its Cuajone copper mine in the Moquegua region of Peru. This investment has been included in the mine's seventh technical supplementary report. The project, with a duration of 17 months, aims to reduce operating costs through equipment upgrades and infrastructure improvements to address production pressures caused by declining ore grades.
Headquartered in Arizona, USA, Southern Copper Corporation is one of the world's largest copper producers, with several core mines in Peru and Mexico. The Cuajone copper mine is one of the two pillars of its Peruvian operations, producing nearly 163,000 tons of refined copper in 2025. The core of this upgrade involves installing a new vertical filter press at the concentrator plant, with a daily processing capacity of 1,000 tons, to ensure copper concentrate filtration needs during failures or maintenance of existing filtration equipment, thereby ensuring operational continuity, reducing costs, and improving concentrate quality. Currently, the mine's existing vertical filter press, horizontal filter press, and four drum filters are all faulty and require alternating use. When the drum filters are activated, two additional fuel dryers must be started for concentrate drying.
The project also includes relocating some freshwater pipelines, creating a new 253,000-square-meter heap leaching area, renovating the mine's sewage network, and constructing new substations and control rooms to support the filtration system. Additionally, Southern Copper is advancing an approximately $79 million upgrade of the neighboring Toquepala mine. Due to declining ore grades, the company expects copper production of 911,400 tons in 2026 and about 900,000 tons in 2027, both lower than the 954,300 tons in 2025. This upgrade of the Cuajone mine is part of the company's strategy to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of its Peruvian operations.
The approval from Peru's National Environmental Certification Agency has cleared a key regulatory hurdle for the project. The Cuajone and Toquepala mines received Copper Mark certification in 2025, confirming their compliance with the International Council on Mining and Metals' Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.
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