Chinese company to invest $1.3 billion in copper mine in Peru

Beijing. June 4. Silkroadnews - The Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) announced plans to invest 1.3 billion U.S. dollars to expand its operations at Peru’s Toromocho copper mine, SINA.com reports.
The move is aimed at enhancing the company’s ability to produce and process pure copper, Chinalco’s CEO Ge Hongling said during a meeting with Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra at the presidential headquarters in the capital Lima.
“By 2020, the annual production capacity will increase 45percent and the value of annual output will reach 2 billion U.S. dollars, contributing to the creation of more jobs and tax,” Ge said.
Chinalco, which has been operating in Peru for 10 years, hopes to raise its processing capacity three times to 157,000 tons per day and double the annual copper output to 300,000 tons.
The Peruvian president welcomed the “significant” investments, saying it would help develop Peru’s economy, raise revenues and support state education and health care programs.
Geological surveys show that Toromoho, located about 150 km east of Lima, contains 1.526 billion tons of minerals with an average copper content of 0.48%, together with molybdenum and silver.
Over the next three years China is expected to invest $10 billion in energy, mining, construction and finance in Peru.