(13-05-2026) Southern Perú Copper, third-largest local copper producer, has been considering in the short term the expansion of its smelter in Ilo to 2 Mt, an increase of 66% compared to its current smelting capacity of 1.2 Mt. “It is important for any country to have a product with the entire productive chain”.
This was stated to MinerAndina by Eng. Jorge Meza Viveros, General Director of Operations at Southern Peru Copper Corporation and president of ExpoCobre 2026, the leading mining trade fair and conference focused on copper in Peru, held from April 27 to 29.
“Since the Chinese took control of smelting and refining, countries such as Chile, began shutting down their smelters. They preferred to sell only the concentrate, and now they are reassessing the situation. The same can be seen in the steel industry, where efforts are being made to recover smelting operations and reopen plants, including in Chile as well. Here in Peru, we are the only company that operates smelters.
Our final product is cathode copper, and the awards we receive are due to the fact that it is a “six nines” product, and additionally, the by-product metals are also within a very attractive margin”.
Colaboration
Without mentioning it directly, former Mining Minister of Chile, Aurora Williams, alluded during her presentation to collaboration among countries in order to better respond to international demand.
“Well, I obviously agree with her. The southern triangle — Argentina, Chile, and Peru — would represent 30% of global copper production. But it is not only about collaboration; it is also about the vision for deposits and concessions. It is a cross-cutting issue involving several local companies and even international players.”
“We are also conducting exploration activities in Argentina, and there is collaboration. In fact, the best mining specialists come from Peru and Chile. In Colombia, there are only a few universities with those specialties. Therefore, sending brilliant minds and talent into the mining and metallurgical sector, for example, would be a great opportunity.”
How EXPOCOBRE 2026 is viewed looking ahead
“In the current situation the country is experiencing, ExpoCobre provides a breath of fresh air to help restore international confidence in Peru, a country that is so large and resilient that it should not fear what may come politically in the future.”
“The mining sector is the most important and fundamental pillar for the country’s growth. Therefore, we have an excellent stronghold for Peru to continue growing, regardless of the political actions taken by the government.”
“When I was invited two years ago to preside over ExpoCobre, I requested that not only mining companies and supplier partners participate, but also universities and the government. And that is exactly what you have seen throughout the presentations we have held.”
“The working groups we organized included students from several universities across different regions of the country. We had six ministers participating in a very interesting and comprehensive panel, and governors from the country’s main copper-producing regions sharing their views. This was in addition to everything we saw at the trade fair.”
“To the surprise of many, and with great joy, we welcomed a group from the community of the Cocachacra area and the Tambo Valley. It is an association of 32 small entrepreneurs providing services to our projects. So, for the next event, we will invite them as well. This helps complete and strengthen the virtuous circle.”
“And well, it was mentioned that Peru has dropped to third place as a copper producer; the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now ahead. But with the upcoming projects that are set to move forward, we want to recover second place globally.”
“Unfortunately, due to the war, there has been a rebound in prices and also in demand for metals. In some countries, people are turning to metals such as gold, silver, or copper as safe havens because of the current situation affecting the value chain.”
After ExpoCobre… remembering Óscar González Rocha
“I leave very happy and very grateful, especially because we were taken into account, and even more so because our Executive President, Engineer Óscar González Rocha, may he rest in peace, had planned everything for this event and was genuinely interested in having members of the Peruvian government participate.”
“The engineer left us, and one way of honoring his legacy is that the Innovation Award now bears his name and will remain that way forever. So we leave with bittersweet feelings, but happy because we are paying tribute to him, and I believe the event exceeded many expectations.”