PERU · MINING
Key Facts
- The company Southern Copper, listed in New York and Lima under the ticker SCCO and 88.9% owned by Grupo México, runs its Peruvian mines through a branch known as Southern Peru.
- What happened Southern Peru filed its fifth Technical Supporting Report (ITS) for the Toquepala copper mine with Senace, Peru’s environmental certification agency.
- The numbers US$471.09 million (about 1.62 billion soles) for eight changes; US$396.5 million of it, or 84%, would raise the Quebrada Honda tailings dam by 10 metres.
- When Peruvian media reported the filing from Tuesday 13 October 2026; the date it was submitted has not been published.
- What comes next Senace must evaluate the filing before the works can go ahead, and no construction schedule has been published.
- The mine Toquepala produced about 113,700 tonnes of copper in the first half of 2026, 11.5% less than a year earlier.
- Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 54.7 points (October 2026 edition).
Southern Copper, the Mexican-controlled copper miner listed in New York, has filed plans to invest US$471 million at its Toquepala mine in southern Peru. Most of the money would raise the dam that stores the mine’s tailings, the fine waste left after copper is extracted from ore.
The plan still needs approval from Senace, Peru’s environmental certification agency, and Peruvian business and mining media reported the filing from 13 October. The outlets say the changes aim to improve efficiency and keep mining and processing going at a mine that has produced copper since 1960.
What Was Announced
Southern Peru, the branch through which Southern Copper runs its Peruvian operations, submitted the fifth Technical Supporting Report for Toquepala, known in Spanish by its initials ITS, to Senace. The Peruvian business daily Gestión and the mining outlets Minería y Proyectos and ProActivo reported the filing and its eight components.
An ITS is the filing Peru uses to approve changes or technology upgrades at a mine that already has an approved environmental impact study, when the changes are expected to cause no significant new impact. Submitting it is not an approval, and the works depend on Senace’s decision.
Senace, which is attached to Peru’s Ministry of the Environment, approved Toquepala’s fourth ITS on 6 June 2025. Its six changes included a new machine for the copper cathode plant and three thickeners to recover water from tailings, with a budget of about US$78.5 million as filed in January 2025, according to Gestión.
The Numbers
The filing puts the total at US$471.09 million, or about 1.62 billion soles at 3.44 soles per US dollar on 14 October. Raising the Quebrada Honda tailings dam accounts for US$396.5 million, about 84% of the total.
The dam’s crest would rise by 10 metres, from 1,246.5 to 1,256.5 metres above sea level, to increase its storage capacity. Another US$4.56 million would pay for dredging, better pumping of recovered water and a system to thicken fine tailings, which media reports of the filing say would recover water and cut the use of fresh water.
The second-largest item is US$52.49 million to enlarge the East waste-rock dump from 484.8 to 500.9 hectares, adding storage and shortening haul routes. Smaller items include a covered store for backup equipment (US$5.61 million), a domestic wastewater plant at the Villa Staff camp (US$5.37 million), a larger store for geological drill cores (US$3.95 million) and a workshop upgrade (US$2.41 million).
The last item, about US$154,000, would add washrooms, changing rooms and canteens at Concentrator Plant 2. None of the eight reported components involves new milling equipment, and the two largest add storage for tailings and waste rock.
Why It Matters
Quebrada Honda, about 40 kilometres south of the Toquepala mine, is the only tailings dam Southern Copper operates in Peru and serves both Toquepala and Cuajone. The company’s 2025 annual report lists the dam as 148 metres high.
Toquepala feeds two concentrators, each able to mill 60,000 tonnes of ore a day. After the copper is recovered, the tailings pass through thickeners to reclaim water and are then sent to Quebrada Honda, according to the annual report.
The mine’s output is falling. Toquepala produced 250.6 million pounds of copper, about 113,700 tonnes, in the first half of 2026, 11.5% less than a year earlier, which Southern Copper attributed to lower ore grades, less ore milled and lower output from its leaching plant.
In the second quarter alone, Toquepala’s copper output fell 14.7% from a year earlier to 121.9 million pounds, about 55,300 tonnes. Gains at Southern Copper’s Mexican mines only partly offset the decline, and the group’s mined copper output fell 3.5% from a year earlier.
Peru remains central to the group’s growth plans, and Southern Copper says its investment in Peruvian projects could exceed US$10.3 billion over the next decade. Its Tía María project in the Arequipa region was 42% complete at the end of June and is expected to start operating in the second half of 2027.
The company also lists Los Chancas in the Apurímac region, at an estimated US$2.6 billion, and Michiquillay in Cajamarca, at about US$2.5 billion. It expects them to start production in 2031 and 2032 respectively.
What It Means for US Readers
Southern Copper shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the Lima Stock Exchange under the ticker SCCO. Grupo México, the Mexico City-listed mining and railway group, owns 88.9%, leaving 11.1% with outside investors.
For shareholders, most of the money would go to storing tailings and waste rock at a mine whose output is falling, not to new processing plant. The shares closed at US$207.42 in New York on Tuesday 13 October.
Copper is a core input for power grids, electric vehicles and data centres, so supply from large mines such as Toquepala feeds into the prices US manufacturers pay. A larger dam gives the mine room to keep operating, but it does not reverse the fall in ore grades.
What Is Not Known
The reports do not give the date Southern Peru submitted the filing, a construction schedule or the number of jobs the works would create. Senace has not published a decision, and no date for one has been announced.
The works do not appear in Southern Copper’s latest quarterly report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which covers the period to 30 June. It is also unclear how the spending would be phased over the coming years.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Related: Southern Copper company profile · Southern Copper’s record second-quarter profit · Peru’s mining lobby and Tía María · Southern Copper’s Peru spending plans
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Southern Copper investing at Toquepala?
The fifth ITS filed with Senace projects US$471.09 million across eight components. About US$396.5 million, or 84%, would go to raising the Quebrada Honda tailings dam.
What is an ITS in Peruvian mining?
An ITS, or Technical Supporting Report, is an environmental filing for changes or upgrades at a mine that already has an approved impact study. Peru uses it when the changes are expected to cause no significant new environmental impact.
Has Peru approved the Toquepala plan?
Not yet. Senace still has to evaluate the filing, and the works depend on its approval.
Who owns Southern Copper?
Grupo México owns 88.9% of Southern Copper, and the rest trades on the New York and Lima stock exchanges under the ticker SCCO. The company runs its Peruvian mines through a branch known as Southern Peru.
How much copper does Toquepala produce?
Toquepala produced 250.6 million pounds of copper, about 113,700 tonnes, in the first half of 2026. That was 11.5% less than a year earlier, mainly because of lower ore grades and less ore milled.
Sources: Gestión: Southern Perú proyecta US$ 471 millones en cambios para su mina Toquepala, 14 October 2026; Minería y Proyectos: Toquepala, Southern Copper proyecta US$ 471 millones en infraestructura, 13 October 2026; ProActivo: Southern Perú plantea invertir US$ 471 millones en Toquepala, 13 October 2026; Southern Copper Form 10-Q for the quarter to 30 June 2026 (SEC); Southern Copper second-quarter 2026 results release (SEC), 21 July 2026; Southern Copper Form 10-K for 2025 (SEC); Desde Adentro: Senace approval of the fourth Toquepala ITS, 20 June 2025; Gestión: fourth Toquepala ITS budget, 3 January 2025; Senace; share price and exchange rate from EODHD, 13 and 14 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief