Peru's copper output falls 5% in August, missing minister's full-year path
Output fell to 230,676 metric tons after Las Bambas halted again following a fatal accident, Rio Times Online reports.
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Peru's copper production fell 5.0% year on year in August to 230,676 metric tons. The drop follows a rise in July, when output reached 236,515 tonnes, up 3.7% from a year earlier, according to Rio Times Online, citing data from the Ministry of Energy and Mines. June had also fallen, down 4.7% to 218,200 tonnes, with the state mining ministry reporting steep declines at Antapaccay and Marcobre, according to Shanghai Metals Market.
The August slide coincided with another stoppage at the Las Bambas mine, which halted operations after an accident at a water pond killed two workers, Rio Times Online reports. Peru's labor inspectorate, Sunafil, opened an investigation, and operator MMG planned a gradual restart from August 21.
Not every producer struggled. Antamina, owned by BHP, Glencore, Teck and Mitsubishi, posted a 54% rise in output over January to July and accounted for 18.6% of the country's copper, Rio Times Online reports, citing ministry figures, while nine of the ten largest producers saw output fall over that period. For the first seven months of the year, national production stood 2.2% higher than the same period in 2025, according to Industrial Info Resources.
The August decline runs counter to Mining Minister Guillermo Shinno's full-year projection of 2.5 million to 2.7 million tonnes, which had implied steadier output through the second half of the year. Shinno has linked the lower projection to declining ore grades and recurring social conflicts, according to Crux Investor. A single month's drop does not confirm a trend break, but weaker production, if it persists, would tighten the supply growth that Peru's planned capacity additions are meant to deliver over the next five to six years; Shinno has told Reuters, as reported by Industrial Info Resources, that the project pipeline could add 1 million tonnes a year over that period. Copper prices could find support if Peru's monthly data continue to undershoot expectations, especially against S&P Global/CERA's estimate of a roughly 530,000-tonne concentrate deficit for 2026.