Peru's Tía María copper project advances with $1.8B investment

Grupo México reported that the Tía María copper mine in Peru's Arequipa region has reached 42% construction progress as of Q2 2026, with $693 million already invested out of a total $1.8 billion budget. The project is slated to begin operations in the third quarter of 2027, aiming to produce 120,000 metric tons of refined copper annually and generate roughly $20 billion in exports and $4.6 billion in taxes and royalties over its first 20 years. About 5,800 new jobs have been created, 1,254 of which are filled by local workers, and the company plans to employ up to 6,000 people during construction.

The mining lobby Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía (SNMPE) is urging the Peruvian government to fast‑track the project after it was declared a national interest in April 2026, briefly revoked, and then re‑authorized later that month. Southern Copper, the project's operator, raised $1.25 billion in late June 2026 to fund development, emphasizing the project's role in unlocking an estimated $64 billion of broader mining investment in the country.