Copper firm mulls expansion

Lima
Peru approved Southern Copper Corp’s planned $1.2 billion expansion of its Toquepala mine in southern Peru, putting it on track to double the operation’s concentrating capacity, the company said on Wednesday.
Southern Copper, controlled by Grupo Mexico, said in a regulatory filing that the expansion aims to boost the capacity of the mine’s copper concentrator to 120,000 tons per day from 60,000.
The company said Tuesday that it also expects the government to issue a construction permit for its stalled $1.4 billion Tia Maria project in coming months, despite ongoing protests by farmers.
The London price for three-month delivery has recovered from its January swoon to five-year lows down at $5,340 per ton. But the recovery lost momentum at a late-march high of $6,295 and prices are once again heading south.