The Antamina mine in the

Andes Mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

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 Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or r ...

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 Teck Resources Limited is a diversified natural resources company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is engaged in mining and mineral development, including coal for the steelmaking industry, copper, zinc, and energy. Secondary ...

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

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 is a Japanese general trading company ( ''sogo shosha'') and a core member of the Mitsubishi Group. For much of the post-war period, Mitsubishi Corporation has been the largest of the five great ''sogo shosha'' (Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, S ...

and independently operated by Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. It produced 390,800 tons of

copper concentrate Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ...

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 Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

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 An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

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 Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

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 Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as president of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towar ...

, 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.

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

History

Local relations

See also

References

External links