Peru's mining sector may look to joint venture agreements in the future as a way to develop new copper projects in remote areas that are unfamiliar with the industry.
Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer, and most of its copper is concentrated in the Southern Andes. But with copper prices high, in a small patch of the Northern Andes, long-stalled projects could be built more efficiently through joint ventures or common infrastructure.
"One way to reduce your footprint and make your investments more efficient is to join these projects," said Victor Gobitz, president of Peru's Chamber of Mines, or SNMPE. "Or, if it's not a project with several partners, a joint venture, then there is common infrastructure, such as just one tailings dam."
Mr Gobitz is also chief executive of Antamina, one of Peru's largest copper mines, which is jointly owned by BHP, Glencore and Teck.
Projects such as Southern Copper's Michiquillay, Newmont's Conga and Galeno are all subsidiaries of China Minmetals and could be unlocked through joint ventures or common infrastructure, Gobitz said. "When you look at the location of [those] projects on the map, it's clear they're all in the same area," he said.
The total value of the projects is $10.8 billion, according to Peru's mining ministry. Only Michiquillay has an estimated start date of 2029, though those deadlines tend to slip by many years.
But the copper projects are in Peru's Cajamarca region, which is known for community opposition to mining. Conga was ready to build it, but the project was put on hold because of strong community opposition. Newmont, however, has hinted that it still wants to build the Conga.
First Quantum recently acquired a majority stake in the La Granja copper project, also in Cajamarca, from Rio Tinto.
The joint venture is "not the story within the story," Mr. Gobitz said, explaining that mining companies prefer to handle projects individually. "But it's not necessarily more efficient or more environmentally friendly."
