The Antamina mine in the
Andes Mountains of
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
is one of the largest
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
/
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
mines in the world. It is an
open pit mine which had an estimated life of mine at 15 years. It also produced
molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...
. The mine is jointly owned by
Teck Resources,
BHP,
Glencore
Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, London, England as well a ...
, and
Mitsubishi Corporation and independently operated by Compañía Minera Antamina S.A.
It produced 390,800 tons of
copper concentrate in 2006, 461,000 tons
in 2013. The total capital expenditure of the mine by 2013 was US$2.3 billion. İt is located at an altitude of 4,300 meters above sea level.
In 2014,
unionized
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
mine workers went on
strike over pay and benefits.
On April 22, 2025, a senior operations manager died in an accident in the mine.
History
At the time of its development, the mine was Peru's largest investment project at $2.3 billion. Part of the country's
dependence on mining, it was expected to raise
exports by $900 million.
In 2010, the mine underwent an expansion program that increased its processing capacity by 31%.
, the mine is expected to shut down in 2028. A $2 billion investment to extend the lifespan to 2036 is underway pending approval of an
environmental impact study.
Local relations
Many residents of land that is now the mine sold their property in the hopes that the mine would uplift the local economy, but there was little effect to jobs or infrastructure. Villagers living nearby complain that dust thrown up by the mine is toxic. Mine officials, along with President
Ollanta Humala, denied that the mine was unsafe.
In November 2021, the rural Aquia community
blockaded the mine's operations. Protestors alleged that the mine had not fully paid the community for the land, which the company disputed.
The company launched an initiative, FOGEL, with the stated aim of strengthening the capacities of local governments and communities.
See also
*
Antamina Tailings Dam
*
Zinc mining
*
List of mines in Peru
*
Copper mining
References
External links
Official website*
* {{cite web, title=Peru's Antamina to produce 450,000 tons of copper in 2013 -CEO, url=http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/perus-antamina-produce-450-000-200210761.html, publisher=
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
, accessdate=20 October 2013, date=18 September 2013
Mines in the Department of Ancash
Copper mines in Peru
Open-pit mines
Teck Resources
Molybdenum mines
Surface mines in Peru