Peru to produce less copper than expected

Peru will produce less copper than expected this year and the next due to project delays and lower output at the Antamina mine, a senior government official said.

Copper production will likely match last year's 1.4Mt in 2014 and rise to as much as 1.8Mt next year, deputy mining minister Guillermo Shinno said.

Output rose 2.6% to 1.03Mt through the first three quarters, according to the energy and mines ministry (MEM).

Chinalco's US$3.5bn Toromocho mine, opened a year ago, has taken longer than forecast to ramp-up and contributed 43,869t through the first three quarters.

China Minmetals' US$5.1bn Las Bambas mine has delayed its start-up until the first quarter of 2016 from the second half of 2015 after buying the project from Glencore earlier this year.

At Antamina, a strike expected for November 10 will further curtail production hit by falling ore grades, which cut output at the mine 34% in September.

Antamina is expected to boost production 30% next year, while Toromocho should produce 270,000t, and Hudbay Minerals' US$1.4bn Constancia mine will contribute 80,000t, Shinno said.

Gold output will drop 18% to 4Moz this year, Shinno told reporters in Lima. Production fell 14.8% to 101,146kg through September due to a government crackdown on illegal gold miners in the Amazon jungle, offsetting a 44% rebound in production at Newmont Mining's Yanacocha mine in September.

The ministry is counting on Las Bambas, Toromocho, Constancia and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's US$4.6bn Cerro Verde expansion to double copper output to 2.8Mt/y by 2016.