China's mining investments close to US$15bn in the last 11 years

Minem statement

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Spanish

The Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) reported that Chinese investments in the Peruvian mining subsector totaled about US$15 billion between 2009 and last July, which confirms the important participation of the Asian giant in the development of this important and sustainable industry.

Of the US$ 2,274 million executed in Peruvian mining between January and July, US$295 million corresponded to capital from China that was destined mainly to the execution of the Toromocho Expansion project, in Junín.

The highest amounts of investment in the Asian country in local mining were recorded between 2012 and 2015, the period in which the Las Bambas copper operation was built, operated by MMG Las Bambas , a subsidiary of the Chinese company MMG Limited, which is one of the largest copper mines in the world.

In this regard, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Miguel Incháustegui, highlighted that China, in addition to being Peru's main commercial partner, is one of the largest investors in the mining sector and one of the largest demanders of the metals that the country exports .

"The recovery of the Chinese industry after and the projections for the improvement of its economy after the pandemic, allow us to foresee a greater demand for the mining products that we export", said Incháustegui in the virtual conference "Mining as a driver of the 2020 economy - 2021”, organized by the Chinese Peruvian Chamber of Commerce.

The minister indicated that, currently, 23% of national copper production and 100% of iron production come from mines operated by Chinese companies and that there are five projects promoted by mining companies in that country, representing an investment of US $ 10,155 million: Expansion of Toromocho, Pampa de Pongo, Javier, Galeno and Río Blanco.

In this sense, he said that the approach to dialogue and the Management Committees that will be installed in the mining regions during his tenure seek to generate a favorable context for the sustainable development of mining investments in China and from any source.

He stressed that China consumes about 50% of the copper concentrates produced in the world and that only Peru, which is the second largest producer of this metal, supplies 27% of its demand.

In the case of zinc, the Asian giant demands 20% of the world production of zinc concentrates, with Peru supplying 19% of its consumption, reported Minem.