Peruvian Metals improved processing capacity of it Aguila Norte plant after operations resumed in late-July. The plant was closed for four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plant, which is located in the north of Peru, processed 1,807mt of minerals in August, up by 0.67pc from the prior August, according to the company’s operational update. The plant had processed 559mt minerals in July.
Suppliers have resumed deliveries to the plant and the company expects continuous production till December, said Jeffrey Reeder CEO of Peruvian Metals.
Peruvian Metals owns an 80pc interest in the Aguila Norte processing plant. In 2019, the plant processed 18,510mt copper, zinc, gold and silver. The company has an environmental permit to process 100mt minerals per day (tpd) and is capable to expand processing upto 350 tpd.
Peruvian mineral output
Peru’s copper, iron ore, zinc, and lead production dropped in the first half (H1) of this year compared to the same period the prior year, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Copper production decreased by 20.4pc to 1.1mn mt in H1, compared 949,217mt in H1 2019, according to Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) data.
Mining is the most important economic activity in Peru, which represents about 9pc of the country’s GDP and 60pc of exports. Copper and gold are the most valuable metals exported by Peru.