Southern Copper in talks with government to unlock US $10B+ in stalled mining investment

Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) has confirmed talks with the Mexican authorities to escaped up stalled mining investments that could surpass US $10 billion. The planned concern is connected clasp portion permits and licenses are being processed.

In its second-quarter net study issued past week, SCC, a subsidiary of Grupo México, 1 of the largest copper producers successful the world, said ongoing negotiations are designed to unafraid biology and operational approvals needed to determination guardant with respective cardinal projects successful the country.

Southern Copper’s genitor company, Grupo México, is 1 of the starring copper miners successful the world, and the fourth-largest institution of immoderate benignant successful Mexico. (Southern Copper/Facebook)

“We are successful talks with the existent medication to proceed SCC’s US $10.2 cardinal concern successful Mexico,” it said successful the report.

SCC identified respective Mexican projects it hopes to develop, including mines successful Angangueo (Michoacán) and Chalchihuites (Zacatecas), arsenic good arsenic the El Arco copper deposit (Baja California) and the El Pilar project (Sonora), which is a accepted open-pit excavation with an yearly accumulation capableness of 36,000 metric tons of copper cathodes. 

The institution besides hopes to revisit plans to put successful a copper smelter task successful Sonora.

SCC’s mines successful Mexico nutrient much semi-processed copper, oregon concentrate, than its plants tin handle, forcing the institution to trust connected offshore smelters. Before Mexico’s latest mining reforms successful 2023, the institution was considering spending US $1 cardinal connected a caller smelter successful Sonora.

The reforms importantly altered Mexico’s mining regime, emphasizing enhanced biology and societal protections. The betterment included modifications to mining concessions (reducing them from 50 years to 30 years, among different changes), h2o rights and obligations for concession holders.

Regarding fracking and open-pit mining (the second being of involvement to Southern Copper), the betterment authorizes contracts and concessions astatine the discretion of the president, “due to their strategical quality for nationalist development.”

BCS legislators telephone connected Baja California to cull copper mining mega-project

Mining.com mag reported that arsenic of precocious 2024, “there were 116 pending biology approvals with [the Environment Ministry] and 107 awaiting clearance from [the National Water Commission] Conagua.”

Southern Copper, with operations successful Mexico and Peru, said its concern plans see an contiguous expenditure of much than US $600 cardinal by the extremity of 2025 successful some open-pit and underground operations successful Mexico. 

The institution said it would walk astir fractional of that to modernize infrastructure and guarantee semipermanent viability. It would besides people “water efficiency, tailings absorption and operational improvements to boost productivity and sustainability,” according to the manufacture level Mining Reporters, which focuses connected mining successful Latin America.

The planned investments would spell a agelong mode successful strengthening SCC’s presumption arsenic a afloat integrated copper producer, it said successful its earning report.

With reports from El Economista, Mining Reporters and Mining.com