Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) operates as an integrated copper producer in the world. The company is a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation.
The company's major production includes copper, molybdenum, zinc and silver. All of the company's mining, smelting and refining facilities are located in Peru and Mexico; and the company conducts exploration activities in those countries and in Argentina and Chile.
The company's Peruvian copper operations involve mining, milling and flotation of...
Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) operates as an integrated copper producer in the world. The company is a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation.
The company's major production includes copper, molybdenum, zinc and silver. All of the company's mining, smelting and refining facilities are located in Peru and Mexico; and the company conducts exploration activities in those countries and in Argentina and Chile.
The company's Peruvian copper operations involve mining, milling and flotation of copper ore to produce copper concentrates and molybdenum concentrates; the smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; and the refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes. As part of this production process, the company also produces significant amounts of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid. The company's precious metals plant at the Ilo refinery produces refined silver, gold, and other materials. Additionally, the company produces refined copper using solvent extraction/electrowinning technology ('SX-EW'). The company operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines high in the Andes Mountains, approximately 860 kilometers southeast of the city of Lima, Peru. The company also operates a smelter and refinery west of the Toquepala and Cuajone mines in the coastal city of Ilo, Peru.
The company's Mexican operations are conducted through the company's subsidiary, Minera Mexico, S.A. de C.V. ('Minera Mexico'), which the company acquired in 2005. Minera Mexico engages primarily in the mining and processing of copper, molybdenum, zinc, silver, gold and lead. Minera Mexico operates through subsidiaries that are grouped into three separate units. Mexicana de Cobre, S.A. de C.V. (together with its subsidiaries, the 'La Caridad' unit) operates La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, a copper ore concentrator, a SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery and a rod plant. The La Caridad refinery has a precious metals plant that produces refined silver, gold and other materials. Operadora de Minas e Instalaciones Mineras, S.A de C.V. (the 'Buenavista unit') operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine, which is located on the site of one of the world's largest copper ore deposits, two copper concentrators and two operating SX-EW plants. Industrial Minera Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (together with its subsidiaries, the 'IMMSA unit') operates five underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold; and a zinc refinery.
The company utilizes modern mining and processing methods, including global positioning systems and computerized mining processes. Its operations have a high level of vertical integration, which allows the company use its facilities, employees and equipment to manage the entire production process, including ore mining and production of refined copper rod and other products, and to execute most associated transport and logistics functions.
The company is a majority-owned, indirect subsidiary of Grupo Mexico S.A.B. de C.V. ('Grupo Mexico'). As of December 31, 2024, Grupo Mexico, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Americas Mining Corporation ('AMC'), owned 88.9% of the company's capital stock. Grupo Mexico's principal business is to act as a holding company for the shares of other corporations engaged in the mining, processing, purchase and sale of minerals and other products; and in the provision of railway and other related services.
The company conducts its operations in Peru through a registered branch (the 'SPCC Peru Branch,' 'Branch' or 'Peruvian Branch'). The SPCC Peru Branch comprises virtually all of the company's assets and liabilities associated with the company's copper operations in Peru. The SPCC Peru Branch does not constitute a corporation that is separate from SCC, and, as such, the obligations of the SPCC Peru Branch are direct obligations of SCC and vice-versa. The SPCC Peru Branch is, however, registered as a branch of a foreign company pursuant to Peruvian law and through this entity, the company holds assets, incur liabilities and conduct operations in Peru.
The company owns 99.96% of Minera Mexico. The company’s revenues are derived primarily from its operations in Peru and Mexico.
Segments
The company operates through the following three reportable segments and manages each as a separate segment:
Peruvian operations, which include the Toquepala and Cuajone mine complexes and the smelting and refining plants, including a precious metals plant, industrial railroad and port facilities that service both mines. Sales of its products are recorded as revenue from its Peruvian mines. The Peruvian operations produce copper, by-products of molybdenum, silver and other materials.
Mexican open-pit operations, which include the La Caridad-Pilares and Buenavista mine complexes and the smelting and refining plants, including a precious metals plant and a copper rod plant and support facilities that service both mines. Sales of its products are recorded as revenue of the company’s Mexican mines. The Mexican open-pit operations produce copper and zinc, with production of by-products of molybdenum, silver and other materials.
Mexican underground mining operations, which include five underground mines that produce zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold; and a zinc refinery. This group is identified as the IMMSA unit and sales of its products are recorded as revenue from the IMMSA unit.
Principal Products and Markets
The company focuses on end-user customers as opposed to selling on the spot market or to trading companies. In addition, the company devotes significant marketing efforts to diversifying its sales both by region and customer base.
Fuel, Electricity and Water Supplies
The principal raw materials used in the company’s operations are fuel, gas, electricity and water. The company uses natural gas to power boilers and generators and utilizes diesel fuel to power mining equipment for metallurgical processes at its operations.
Peru
Fuel: In Peru, the company obtains fuel primarily from Valero Peru, a local subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, a U.S. producer of fuel and power.
Electricity: In June 2014, the company entered into a power purchase agreement for 120 megawatts ('MW') with the state owned company, Electroperu S.A., which began supplying energy to the company's Peruvian operations for a twenty-year period that started on April 17, 2017. In July 2014, the company entered into a power purchase agreement for 120MW with a private power generator Kallpa Generacion S.A. ('Kallpa'), which began supplying energy to the company's Peruvian operations for a ten-year period that started on April 17, 2017. In May 2016, the company signed an additional power purchase agreement for a maximum of 80MW with Kallpa, under which Kallpa will supply energy to the operations related to the Toquepala expansion and to other minor projects for a period starting on May 1, 2017, and ending on October 31, 2029. The company feels confident that additional power can be obtained from the Peruvian national grid, should the need arise.
Additionally, the company has nine megawatts of power generation capacity from two small hydro-generating facilities at Cuajone. Power is distributed over a 224- kilometer transmission line circuit, which is connected to the Peruvian network.
Water: The company has water rights or licenses for up to 2,011 liters per second from well fields at the Huaitire-Gentilar, Vizcachas and Titijones aquifers and surface water rights from Lake Suches. Three additional water sources are: Quebrada Honda, Quebrada Tacalaya and a smaller resource from the Cuajone mine pit. These water sources are sufficient to supply the water demands of the company’s operating units at Toquepala and Cuajone. Additionally, the company has permits in Ilo to use water at three desalination plants that generate water for industrial use and domestic consumption; these facilities will produce sufficient water to cover the requirements of both current and projected needs. Additionally, the company has two licenses for the use of non-desalinated seawater for the Smelter.
The Branch has a surface water permit for the Locumba river, which will facilitate the conservation and maintenance of a portion of the wetlands in Ite. The company has also been studying alternative sources of water to cover future needs as operations expand and its mining projects grow.
Mexico:
Fuel: In Mexico, since 2018, the company has purchased fuel from Petroleos Mexicanos (‘PEMEX’), the state producer, and from private suppliers.
The La Caridad unit imports natural gas from the United States through its pipeline (between Douglas, Arizona and Nacozari, Sonora). This allows it to import natural gas at market prices and thereby reduce operating costs. Several contracts with PEMEX and the United States provide the company with the option of using a monthly or daily fixed prices for its natural gas purchases.
Natural gas is used for metallurgical processes and to power furnaces, converters, casting wheels, boilers and electric generators. Diesel oil is a backup method for all these uses. The company uses diesel oil to power mining equipment at the company's operations.
Electricity: Electricity is used as the main energy source at the company's mining complexes. The company purchases most of its electricity from Mexico Generadora de Energia S. de R. L. ('MGE'), a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico which has two power plants designed to supply power to La Caridad and Buenavista units. In 2024, MGE supplied 20.2% of its power output to third party energy users. These plants are natural gas-fired combined cycle power generating units, with a net total capacity of 516.2 megawatts. In 2012, the company entered into a power supply agreement with MGE that will last until 2032. The first plant was completed in 2013 and the second in 2014. The first plant began to supply power to the company in December 2013, and the second plant in June 2015.
The company also purchases electricity from the Comision Federal de Electricidad (the Federal Electricity Commission or the 'CFE'), the state's electrical power producer. In addition, the company recovers some energy from waste heat boilers at the La Caridad smelter.
Some IMMSA mining operations also purchase electricity from Eolica el Retiro, S.A.P.I de C.V. ('Eolica'), a windfarm energy producer that is an indirect subsidiary of Grupo Mexico. In August 2013, IMMSA and other of the company's mining operations entered into a purchase agreement and in late 2014 started to purchase electricity from Eolica. Due to the nature of the production process there is not a fixed power capacity contracted. Eolica el Retiro is supplying approximately 25.5% of its power output to IMMSA and Mexcobre.
On February 20, 2020, the company signed a power purchase agreement with Parque Eolico de Fenicias, S. de R.L. de C.V., and indirect subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, to supply 611,400 MWh of power per year to some of the company's Mexican operations for 20 years. This agreement commenced in the third quarter of 2024. In 2024, Parque Eolico de Fenicias supplied approximately 58.6% of its power output to IMMSA.
Water: In Mexico, water is deemed public property and industries that are not connected to a public service water supply must obtain a water concession from Comision Nacional del Agua (the National Water Commission or the 'CNA'). Water usage fees are established in the Ley Federal de Derechos (the Federal Rights Law), which distinguishes several availability zones with different fees per unit of volume according to each zone, with the exception of Mexicana de Cobre. All of the company's operations have one or several water concessions and pump out the required water from wells. Mexicana de Cobre pumps water from the La Angostura dam, which is close to the mine and plants. At the company's Buenavista facility, the company maintains its own wells and pay the CNA for water usage. Water conservation committees have been established at each plant to conserve and recycle water. Water usage fees are updated on a yearly basis.
Mining Rights and Concessions
Peru:
The company has 154,535 hectares in concessions from the Peruvian government for the company's exploration, exploitation, extraction and production operations, at various sites. The company has two types of mining concessions in Peru: metallic and non-metallic concessions.
Mexico:
In Mexico, the company has 502,688 hectares in concessions from the Mexican government for the company's exploration and exploitation activities. The company also owns all of the processing facilities of the company's Mexican operations and the land on which they are built.
Properties
The company operates open-pit copper mines in the southern part of Peru-at Toquepala and Cuajone-and in Mexico, at La Caridad and Buenavista. The company also owns five underground mines, three out of which produce zinc, copper, silver and gold.
Extraction, Smelting and Refining Processes
The company's operations include open-pit and underground mining, concentrating, copper smelting, copper refining, copper rod production, solvent extraction/electrowinning ('SX-EW'), zinc refining, sulfuric acid production, molybdenum concentrate production and silver and gold refining. The extraction and production process are summarized below.
Open-Pit Mining
In an open-pit mine, the production process begins at the mine pit, where waste rock, leaching ore and copper ore are drilled and blasted and then loaded onto diesel-electric trucks by electric shovels. Waste is hauled to dump areas and leaching ore is hauled to leaching dumps. The ore to be milled is transported to the primary crushers.
Underground mining
In an underground mine, the production process begins at the stopes, where copper, zinc and lead veins are drilled and blasted and the ore is hauled to the underground crusher station. The crushed ore is then hoisted to the surface for processing.
Concentrating
The copper ore above an established cut-off from the primary crusher or the copper, zinc and lead-bearing ore from the underground mines is transported to a concentrator plant where gyratory crushers break the ore into sizes no larger than three-quarter of an inch. The ore is then sent to a mill section where it is ground to the consistency of fine powder. The finely ground ore is mixed with water and chemical reagents and pumped as a slurry to the flotation separator, where it is mixed with certain chemicals. In the flotation separator, reagent solutions and air pumped into the flotation cells cause the minerals to separate from the waste rock and bubble to the surface where they are collected and dried.
Copper Smelting
Copper concentrates are transported to a smelter, where they are smelted using a furnace, converter and anode furnace to produce either blister copper (which is in the form of cakes with air pockets) or copper anodes (which are cleaned of air pockets). At the smelter, the concentrates are mixed with flux (a chemical substance intentionally included for high temperature processing) and then sent to reverberatory furnaces producing copper matte and slag (a mixture of iron and other impurities). Copper matte contains approximately 65% copper. Copper matte is then sent to the converters, where the material is oxidized in two steps: the iron sulfides in the matte are oxidized with silica, producing slag that is returned to the reverberatory furnaces, and the copper contained in the matte sulfides is then oxidized to produce copper that, after casting, is called blister copper, containing approximately 98% to 99% copper, or anodes, containing approximately 99.7% copper. Most of the blister and anode production is sent to the refinery and the remainder is sold to customers.
Copper Refining
Anodes are suspended in tanks with a solution containing water, sulfuric acid and copper sulfate. A weak electrical current is passed through the anodes and chemical solution and the dissolved copper is deposited on very thin starting sheets to produce copper cathodes containing approximately 99.99% copper. During this process, silver, gold and other metals (for example, palladium, platinum and selenium), along with other impurities, settle on the bottom of the tank (anodic muds). This anodic mud is processed at a precious metal plant where selenium, silver and gold are recovered.
Copper Rod Plant
To produce copper rod, copper cathodes are first smelted in a furnace and then dosed in a casting machine. The dosed copper is then extruded and passed through a cooling system that begins solidification of copper into a 60×50 millimeter copper bar. The resulting copper bar is gradually stretched in a rolling mill to achieve the desired diameter. The rolled bar is then cooled and sprayed with wax as a preservation agent and collected into a rod coil that is compacted and sent to market.
Solvent Extraction/Electrowinning ('SX-EW')
A complementary processing method is the leaching and SX-EW process. During the SX-EW process, low-grade sulfides ore and copper oxides are leached with sulfuric acid to allow copper content recovery. The acid and copper solution is then agitated with a solvent that contains chemical additives that attract copper ions. As the solvent is lighter than water, it floats to the surface carrying with it the copper content. The solvent is then separated using an acid solution, freeing the copper. The acid solution containing the copper is then moved to electrolytic extraction tanks to produce copper cathodes.
Molybdenum Production
Molybdenum is recovered from copper-molybdenum concentrates produced at the concentrator. The copper-molybdenum concentrate is first treated with a thickener until it becomes slurry. The slurry is then agitated in a chemical and water solution and pumped to the flotation separator. The separator creates a froth that carries molybdenum to the surface but not the copper mineral (which is later filtered to produce copper concentrates. The molybdenum froth is skimmed off, filtered and dried to produce molybdenum concentrates.
Zinc Refining
Metallic zinc is produced through electrolysis using zinc concentrates and zinc oxides. Sulfur is eliminated from the concentrates by roasting and the zinc oxide is dissolved in sulfuric acid solution to eliminate solid impurities. The purified zinc sulfide solution is treated by electrolysis to produce refined zinc and to separate silver and gold, which are recovered as concentrates.
Sulfuric Acid Production
Sulfur dioxide gases are produced in the copper smelting and zinc roasting processes. As a part of the company's environmental preservation program, the company treats the sulfur dioxide emissions at two of the company's Mexican plants and at the company's Peruvian processing facilities to produce sulfuric acid, some of which is, in turn, used for the copper leaching process; the balance is sold to mining and fertilizer companies located mainly in Mexico, Peru, United States and Chile.
Silver and Gold Refining
Silver and gold are recovered from copper, zinc, and lead concentrates in the smelters and refineries and from slimes through electrolytic refining.
Peruvian Operations
Operations in the company's Peruvian segment include the Cuajone and Toquepala mine complexes and the smelting and refining plants, the industrial railroad that links Ilo, Toquepala and Cuajone and the port facilities. Other properties include the company's Tia Maria, Los Chancas and Michiquillay projects. The company conducts ongoing maintenance and improvement programs to ensure the satisfactory performance of the company's equipment.
Cuajone
The Cuajone operations consist of an open-pit copper mine and a concentrator and are located in the Torata District, Mariscal Nieto Region, of Moquegua, approximately 878 km from the city of Lima and 27 km from the city of Moquegua.
The Cuajone mine is accessible by paved road from Lima or Tacna by the Pan-American Highway. The Quebrada Honda tailings storage facility ('TSF') is about 120 km via local roads, south of the Cuajone operations. Access within the project area is via developed roads that are routinely maintained. Tacna, Moquegua, and Ilo have regularly scheduled air services from Lima. Additionally, a spur railway runs from the Toquepala operations to the Cuajone operations.
The Cuajone operations are owned and operated by SPCC Peru Branch and contain a single mining concession, ‘Acumulacion Cuajone’, which covers an area of 14,875.66 hectares. Power is transmitted for process needs from the Peruvian grid using two Southern Copper-owned transmission lines of 138 kV and 220 kV. Additionally, the Cuajone operations use surface and underground water from a variety of sources as fresh make up water.
The property is in the production stage. Southern Copper has had an interest in the Cuajone area since 1954. Predecessor companies included Cerro de Pasco Corporation, Newmont and Asarco. The company's Cuajone operations utilize a conventional open-pit mining method to drill/blast/haul copper ore for further processing at the concentrator, which has a milling capacity of 90,000 tonnes per day.
Geology
The Cuajone deposit is considered to be an example of a porphyry copper–molybdenum deposit. The basal regional geology consists of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that are cut by Paleozoic granite, unconformably overlain by Upper Triassic to Jurassic marine volcanic and sedimentary lithologies. Overlying these rocks are late Cretaceous to early Tertiary rhyolite, andesite and agglomerate of the Toquepala Group. These lithologies are intruded by the composite, polyphase Cretaceous to Paleogene Coastal (Andean) Batholith.
Mineralization and alteration at the Cuajone deposit is directly related to a multi-stage latite porphyry that intrudes basaltic andesites and the overlying 370 m of rhyolite porphyries of the Toquepala Group. The Cuajone porphyry deposit exhibits a zoned alteration pattern that includes potassic, propylitic, sericitic and intermediate argillic hydrothermal alteration styles. The Cuajone mineralogy is typically simple and consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and bornite, with sparse sphalerite, galena, and enargite.
The company's Cuajone operations use state-of-the-art computer monitoring systems at the concentrator, the crushing plant and the flotation circuit to coordinate inflows and optimize operations.
Toquepala
The Toquepala operations are situated in Southern Peru, approximately 150 km by road from the city of Tacna and 30 kilometers from Cuajone. The Toquepala operations are owned and operated by SPCC Peru Branch and consist of 15 mining concessions which cover an area of 24,168.76 hectares. Power is transmitted for process needs from the Peruvian grid using two Southern Copper-owned transmission lines of 138 kV and 220 kV. Additionally, the Toquepala operations use surface and underground water from a variety of sources as fresh make up water.
The property is under the production stage. The company's Toquepala operations consist of an open-pit copper mine and two concentrators; each with a milling capacity of 60,000 tonnes per day. The company also refines copper at the SX-EW facility through a leaching process. The SX-EW facility has a production capacity of 56,336 tonnes per year of LME grade A copper cathodes. The company's Toquepala operations utilize a conventional open-pit mining method to collect copper ore for further processing in the company's concentrators.
The company's Toquepala concentrators use state-of-the-art computer monitoring systems to coordinate inflows and optimize operations.
SX-EW Plant
The SX-EW facility at Toquepala produces grade A LME electrowon copper cathodes of 99.999% purity from solutions obtained by leaching low-grade ore stored at the Toquepala mine and copper oxides ore at the Cuajone mine. The leach plant commenced operations in 1995 with a design capacity of 35,629 tonnes per year of copper cathodes.
This facility processes copper oxides from Cuajone and copper sulfides from Toquepala. Copper oxides from Cuajone with a copper grade higher than 0.268% and acid solubility index higher than 20% are leached. At Toquepala, the copper sulfides cutoff grade is 0.070% and therefore, material with a total copper grade between 0.070% and 0.15% is leached. Copper in solution produced at Cuajone is sent to Toquepala through an eight-inch pipe laid alongside the Cuajone-Toquepala railroad track.
Plant and equipment are supported by a maintenance plan and a quality management system to assure good physical condition and high availability. The SX-EW plant management quality system (including leaching operations) has been audited periodically since 2002 by an external audit company and found to be in compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001-2015, ISO 14001-2015 and ISO 45000-2018 standard.
Processing Facilities—Ilo
The company's Ilo smelter and refinery complex is located in the southern part of Peru, 17 kilometers north of the city of Ilo, 121 kilometers from Toquepala, 147 kilometers from Cuajone, and 871 kilometers from the city of Lima. Additionally, the company operates a port facility in Ilo, from where the company ships its products and receive supplies. Products shipped and supplies received are moved between Toquepala, Cuajone and Ilo on the company's industrial railroad.
Smelter
The company's Ilo smelter produces copper anodes for the refinery it operates as part of the same facility. When the copper produced by the smelter exceeds the refinery’s capacity, the excess is sold to other refineries around the world.
Refinery
The Ilo refinery consists of a copper electrolytic plant, a precious metal plant and ancillary facilities.
Peruvian Projects
Tia Maria Project
The Tia Maria Project is in the District of Cocachacra, Mejia and Deán Valdivia, Province of Islay, and Arequipa Region. The Project is located 118 km from Moquegua, 125 km from Arequipa, 120 km from the District of Ilo, and 980 km from Lima. The mine gate will be situated at Pampa Cachendo. Mine access will be from the Pan-American Highway, diverting off the highway to the Project access road at km 1027-1028, between Arequipa and Moquegua, approximately 17 km before the town of El Fiscal.
The Project covers an area of 34,789.63 hectares in 55 concessions. The company has easement agreements in place that cover the proposed powerline route and the planned water pipeline that will run from the envisaged desalination plant to the mine. Additionally, the project holds no water rights and the mine plan assumes that water for process operations will be sourced from a desalination plant. The project envisions a 120,000 ton annual SX-EW plant and the mine plans assume conventional open pit mining methods from the La Tapada and Tia Maria deposits.
The property is under the development stage.
Los Chancas Project
The Los Chancas project is located in the Andes Range in southern Peru. The site is approximately 65 km southwest of the city of Abancay in the Department of Apurimac, Peru.
The closest airport is at Cuzco, which is served by daily flights from Lima (approximately one hour flying time). There are a number of port options that may be available to the project for concentrate shipment. These include San Juan de Marcona (approximately 500 km by road), General San Martin at Pisco (about 640–800 km depending on the road route) and Matarani (about 600–750 km depending on the road route).
The project covers approximately 22,700 hectares in 31 concessions. Surface rights are being negotiated. The area where surface rights are required is within the Tiaparo and Tapairíhua rural community boundaries.
The property is under the exploration stage. The company commenced exploration in the Los Chancas area in 1997. Additionally, the company completed baseline studies from 2012 through 2020 and has community initiatives in place in the project area of influence. In 2023 and 2024, the company continued to roll out social and environmental improvement efforts in local communities. In 2025, the company expects to restart the environmental impact assessment; conduct a diamond drilling campaign for 40,000 meters; and initiate hydrogeological and geotechnical studies to gather additional information on the characteristics of the Los Chancas deposit. Los Chancas envisions an open-pit mine with a combined operation of concentrator and SX-EW processes.
Michiquillay Project
The Michiquillay project is located in the Western Cordillera of the Andes in northwest Peru, approximately 45 km from Cajamarca and 900 km northeast of Lima. The main access route to the Project is via road from Cajamarca. The closest airport is at Cajamarca, which is serviced by regular flights from Lima.
The Michiquillay Project consists of 18 mining concessions with a total area of 4,051.4 hectares. The Michiquillay deposit is located on lands of the Michiquillay Rural Community and the Encañada Rural Community. The company has signed surface land use agreements with both communities, which allow the company to conduct exploration activities. Permits for the use of water for exploration purposes are being processed by the National Water Authority and the Marañon Local Authority. Exploration activities are carried out with all the permits and authorizations required by Peruvian regulations.
The property is under the exploration stage. Previous work in the project was conducted by Northern Peru Mining Company, American Smelting and Refining Company, later Asarco LLC, Minero Peru S.A., and various Anglo American subsidiaries. In June 2018, Southern Copper purchased the project from Activos Mineros S.A.C. In 2021, the company signed Social Agreements with the Michiquillay and La Encañada communities. In 2022, the company drilled 1,585 meters. As of December 31, 2024, the company had drilled 140,130 meters and obtained 45,762 core samples for chemical analysis. Geological modeling, cross section interpretation, and drilling logging are underway. For 2025, the company expects to drill 10,000 meters and complete the 148,000-meter diamond drilling program to update the geological modeling and resource evaluation. The company has also initiated hydrological, hydrogeological and geo-metallurgical studies; the geotechnical study for the project is scheduled to begin shortly.
Mexican Operations
Mexican Open-Pit Segment
The company's Mexican open-pit segment operations combine two units of Minera Mexico, La Caridad and Buenavista, which include La Caridad and Buenavista mine complexes and smelting and refining plants and support facilities, which service both complexes.
The company has ongoing maintenance and improvement programs to ensure the satisfactory performance of its equipment. All the company’s Mexican open-pit segment equipment is in good physical condition and suitable for the company’s operations.
Buenavista
The Buenavista mining unit operates an open-pit porphyry copper mine, two concentrators and three SX-EW plants. It is located within the Cananea mining district in the north-central part of the state of Sonora, Mexico. The property is located about 222 kilometers northeast of the city of Hermosillo, Sonora and 150 kilometers southeast of the city of Tucson, Arizona. The property covers an area of 89,220.5 hectares of mining concessions for exploitation activities. The elevation of the mine is of the order of 1,604 meters above mean sea level. Buenavista also has 4.485.5 hectares of exploration concessions in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, thus totaling 93,706 hectares in concessions from the Mexican government.
The Buenavista del Cobre deposit contains two areas, one related to copper mineralization (BVC) and other to zinc mineralization (BVZ). The BVZ pit area lies within the larger BVC pit. Buenavista is connected by paved highways to the border city of Agua Prieta to the northeast, to the town of Nacozari in the southeast, and to the town of Imuris to the west. Buenavista is also connected by railway to Agua Prieta and Nogales. A municipal airport is located approximately 20 kilometers to the northeast of Buenavista.
The SX-EW facilities have a cathode production capacity of 174,470 tonnes per year. The Buenavista ore body is considered one of the world’s largest porphyry copper deposits.
Additionally, the company has built a new zinc concentrator plant, which increased milling capacity and allows the company to recover zinc, along with copper contents.
SX-EW Plant
The Buenavista unit operates a leaching facility and three SX-EW plants.
La Caridad-Pilares Complex
The La Caridad-Pilares complex includes two open-pit mines, a concentrator, a smelter, a copper refinery, a precious metals refinery, a rod plant, a SX-EW plant, a lime plant, and two sulfuric acid plants.
The mining claims held by La Caridad unit cover an area of about 103,821 hectares for exploration and exploitation activities. The La Caridad complex imports natural gas from the United States through its pipeline (between Douglas, Arizona and Nacozari, Sonora). The electrical power is supplied to site from the utility grid via 230 kV overhead transmission lines. The bulk of demand is supplied by MGE, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico. The primary fresh water source is the La Angostura Dam located approximately 29 km to the northeast of the La Caridad mine.
La Caridad is a porphyry copper deposit, that is the largest copper producer in Mexico and the youngest dated porphyry copper system in the American Southwest region.
Pilares
Pilares is considered part of the La Caridad unit and ore from Pilares is routed to the leach pads and processing facilities at the La Caridad operations. The Pilares mineral development project is located in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, about 266 kilometers northeast of the city of Hermosillo and 125 kilometers south of the city of Agua Prieta Sonora, Mexico, which is on the international U.S. – Mexico border.
The mining claims held by Pilares project cover an area of about 143.3 hectares for exploration and exploitation activities.
Processing Facilities—La Caridad
The company's La Caridad complex includes a smelter, an electrolytic copper refinery, a precious metal refinery, a copper rod plant and an effluent and dust treatment plant. The distance between this complex and the La Caridad mine is approximately 24 kilometers.
La Caridad includes an electrolytic copper refinery that uses permanent cathode technology. The installed capacity of the refinery is 300,000 tonnes per year. The refinery consists of an anode plant with a preparation area, an electrolytic plant with an electrolytic cell house with 1,115 cells and 32 liberator cells, two cathode stripping machines, an anode washing machine, a slime treatment plant, and a number of ancillary facilities.
Mexican Projects
El Pilar Project
The El Pilar Property is located in north central Sonora, Mexico, about 15 kilometers south of the international border with United States. The property is situated within lands of Ejido Miguel Hidalgo (also referred to as San Lazaro), in the Santa Cruz Municipality. The El Pilar property comprises 9,571.4 hectares in 19 concessions. These concessions are wholly owned by Recursos Stingray de Cobre S.A de C.V., the company's wholly owned Mexican subsidiary. Additionally, a total of 1,926 hectares of surface rights have been successfully negotiated with the Ejido Miguel Hidalgo, which allows for all required land ownership rights needed for project development.
The El Pilar deposit is located at the southwest margin of the Patagonia Mountains near the base of a mountain range. The topography near the deposit permits sufficient surface space for a mining operation, leaching pads, waste disposal areas, and other facilities. The property can be reached by road from Hermosillo, Sonora in Mexico and from Tucson, Arizona in the United States.
The deposit is located within the Sonora-Arizona Porphyry Copper Province, along the southwest flank of the Patagonia Mountains. The geology of the El Pilar property consists of Precambrian intrusive rocks overlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. These units are overlain by Tertiary sedimentary rocks.
The El Pilar copper deposit occurs within unconsolidated, poorly sorted, poorly bedded, proximal facies alluvial wash deposits that are overlain by dissected younger alluvial fan deposits. The copper bearing sediments at El Pilar are solely consisted of alluvial wash gravels deposited into a paleo topographic range-front depression.
El Arco Project
The El Arco deposit is located near the village of El Arco in Baja California, Mexico, which lies near the center of the Baja California Peninsula in the municipalities of San Quintin, Baja California and Mulegé, Baja California Sur, Mexico. El Arco located between the towns of Santa Rosalía and Guerrero Negro at kilometer 189.
The company plans to construct a port at El Barril, located 70 km northeast of the proposed mine site. The site is a greenfields site with limited infrastructure that is only suitable to support exploration-level activities. Planned on-site infrastructure includes an open pit mine, two waste rock storage facilities, mill complex and oxide fine crushing facilities, temporary ore stockpile, heap leach facility, tailings storage facility, administration building, truck shop and warehouse, main 230 kV electrical substation and a water storage dam and reservoir.
The company holds 11 mining concessions, covering 72,133 hectares. Surfaces rights in the deposit area are held by a combination of agrarian cooperatives (ejidos) and private owners. Project water is planned to be sourced from a desalination plant, to be constructed at El Barril. Additionally, the company expects to obtain power from a private provider.
The El Arco area basement consists of serpentinite, with blocks of peridotite, pyroxenite and amphibolite that are tectonically overlain by diorites, gabbros, and rocks interpreted to be pillow lavas.
Mexican IMMSA Unit
The company's IMMSA unit (underground mining poly-metallic division) owns five underground mining complexes situated in central and northern Mexico, three of which are operating. It produces zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold. These complexes include industrial processing facilities for zinc, lead, copper and silver. All of IMMSA's mining facilities employ exploitation systems and conventional equipment. IMMSA’s principal mining facilities are Charcas, Santa Barbara, San Martin, Santa Eulalia and Taxco.
Charcas
The Charcas mining complex is located approximately 110 kilometers north of the city of San Luis Potosi in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The complex includes three underground mines (San Bartolo, Rey-Reina and La Aurora) and one flotation plant that produces zinc, lead and copper concentrates with significant amounts of silver.
The company holds 13 mining concessions over the Charcas property, which covers a total area of 88,643.26 hectares. Additionally, the company owns surface lands covering an area of 1,744.4 hectares with rights to conduct any work or exploration required to advance or continue of activities within the Charcas project. Water is obtained from three main sources: recovery of process water from the tailings dam, recovery of the working water from the mine and fresh water from concession wells. Additionally, the unit receives a power supply of 115,000 volts in two 7.5-Mega Volt-Amp (MVA) transformers, distributed to electrical substations located in the different areas of mining operation. Fuel comes from a local distribution point in the city of San Luis Potosi and is stored in a series of tanks located on the surface.
Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara mining complex is located approximately 26 kilometers southwest of the city of Hidalgo del Parral in southern Chihuahua, Mexico. Santa Barbara includes three main underground mines (San Diego, Segovedad and Tecolotes), as well as a flotation plant and produces lead, copper and zinc concentrates, with significant amounts of silver.
IMMSA holds 33 mining concessions over the Santa Barbara property, covering a total area of 27,772.51 hectares (ha), with the titles held 100% by the company. There are also surface lands that cover an area of 20.92 hectares and are owned by IMMSA, which provide the company within sufficient rights to any work or exploration that the company requires to carry out for the advancement and continuity of activities in the Santa Barbara property. There are an additional 371.07 hectares covered by a contract with the community of Santa Barbara that allows for any further work or exploration required.
Electricity is supplied by Eolica el Retiro; Energia Chihuahua, S.A. de C.V.; and the CFE.
San Martin
The San Martin mining complex is located in the municipality of Sombrerete in the northwestern part of the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. It is located approximately 185 kilometers from the city of Zacatecas. The complex includes an underground mine and a flotation plant. The ore body contains lead, copper and zinc concentrates, with significant amounts of silver.
The San Martin property consists of 73 mining concessions with a total surface of 10,360.95 hectares, with the titles held by IMMSA.
San Martín mine is located in the Central Mesa of Mexico, between Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental. The Cuesta del Cura (Upper Cretaceous) limestone is the main sedimentary formation in the district.
Santa Eulalia
The mining district of Santa Eulalia is located in the central part of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The main mines in Santa Eulalia are The Buena Tierra mine and the San Antonio mine.
In the first quarter of 2020, the Santa Eulalia mine temporarily suspended its operations due to flooding. The company is evaluating different options to supply the Santa Eulalia concentrator. The company is also evaluating drainage at the mining facilities and determining if it is possible to sell the water for agricultural or other uses.
Taxco
The Taxco mining complex is located on the outskirts of the city of Taxco in the northern part of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. The complex includes several underground mines (San Antonio, Guerrero and Remedios) and a flotation plant. The ore contains lead and zinc concentrates, with some amounts of gold and silver.
Processing Facilities—San Luis Potosi
The company's San Luis Potosi electrolytic zinc refinery is located in the city of San Luis Potosi, in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The city of San Luis Potosi is connected to the company's refinery by a major highway.
Zinc Refinery
The San Luis Potosi electrolytic zinc refinery was built in 1982 and was designed to produce 105,000 tonnes of refined zinc per year by treating up to 200,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate from the company's own mines, principally Charcas, which is located 113 kilometers from the refinery. The refinery produces special high-grade zinc (99.995%), high-grade zinc (over 99.9%) and zinc-based alloys with aluminum, lead, copper or magnesium in varying quantities and sizes depending on market demand. Refined silver and gold production is obtained from tolling services provided by a third party mining company.
The electrolytic zinc refinery has an acid plant, a steam recovery boiler and a roaster. There is also a calcine processing area with five leaching stages: neutral, hot acid, intermediate acid, acid, purified fourth and jarosite, as well as two stages for solution purifying.
Exploration Activities
The company is engaged in ongoing extensive exploration to locate additional ore bodies in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile. The company also conducts exploration in the areas of its mining operations.
The company directly controls 64,069 hectares and 136,256 hectares of exploration concessions in Peru and Mexico, respectively. The company also holds 146,014 hectares and 28,268 hectares of exploration concessions in Argentina and Chile, respectively.
Peru
In 2024, the company finished the evaluation of the Qori Project, which was based on the 2,031 meters previously drilled, and determined the existence of low-grade copper mineralization. Consequently, the company will not continue exploration work on this project. In addition, exploration continued in the copper-gold strip of the southern Peruvian coast, locating anomalous zones of prospective interest that are under evaluation.
In 2025, the company plans to conduct a diamond drilling program of 5,000 meters to explore targets with geophysical anomalies at the Atico project; the intention is to locate copper mineralization. Additionally, the company will carry out prospecting work in metallogenic zones on the southern coast of Peru, which are associated with copper porphyry systems.
Mexico
In addition to exploration and drilling programs at existing mines, the company is conducting exploration to locate mineral deposits at various other sites in Mexico. The following are some of the more significant exploration projects:
The Chalchihuites. This is a skarn type deposit located in the state of Zacatecas, close to the San Martin mining unit. Drilling programs conducted between 1980 and 2014 identified 12.6 million of mineralized material with an average silver content of 110 grams per ton, 2.66% of zinc, 0.37% of lead and 0.67% of copper. Results indicate that mineralization consists of a complex mixture of oxides and sulfides of silver, lead and zinc that requires additional metallurgical research. In 2017, the company started a new drilling program of 21,000 meters to continue metallurgical research and testing. In 2018, this exploration program, which included 48 drill holes was completed. This program has been carried out in compliance with QA/QC protocol, which includes testing the specific density of different rocks and mineralized types and geochemistry sampling. In addition, 5,000 meters of core sample from the drilling program were analyzed with a hyperspectral scanner, and a study of 498 kilometers of hyperspectral imaging was conducted to recognize the geology of the entire Chalchihuites mineral district. In 2019, with the complete data from the diamond drilling program, the company made a geological model of the Cronos deposit using Leapfrog software. In 2020, the sample design for a metallurgical test was completed and three metallurgical samples were delivered to an external consultant. Metallurgical tests for silver recovery will continue with semi-sulfide and oxide ores. In 2022 and 2023, the company drilled a total 5,000 meters and included 16 drill holes in the area known as Virgen Morena. Exploration activities at this area did not render positive results and they were suspended. Metallurgical tests were concluded and confirmed that recoveries in sulphide flotation are good for Zn, Cu, Pb and Ag; however it was not possible to separate lead from the copper concentrate. Dynamic acid leaching tests were performed for oxides and mixed oxides. The results were positive. In 2024, Cu-Pb concentrate separation tests using microbubble technology were carried out. Additionally, the company is evaluating three design alternatives to build an access ramp to obtain ore and process it in a pilot plant.
San Antonio Sur (Santa Eulalia). It is located in the San Antonio mine, eastern field zone in Santa Eulalia. There is evidence of mineralization at Level 8 inside the mine. The drilling program is in place to verify the continuity of mineralization. The mine is flooded. In December 2023, the gauging stage with the new pumping system began. In 2024, the groundwater level was reduced 25 meters. In 2025, the water flow will be measured to confirm the capacity of the pumping system, and a technical economic study will be carried out to analyze the economic viability of the project. It is not clear if the mine can be dewatered.
Malpica Project. This project is located in the municipality of Concordia, 30 km east-southeast of the city of Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa. It comprises 13 mining concessions, covering a total area of 2,662 hectares. The Malpica project hosts a breccia pipes ore deposit that contains copper-gold-molybdenum sulfides. In 2022, a preliminary assessment study was conducted, estimating mineral resources of 42 million tonnes, with a grade of 0.47% copper and 0.20 grams of gold per tonne. In 2025, the company plans to conduct a diamond drilling program of 10,000 meters and analyze 4,000 core samples to delimit the depth of mineralization. The company also plans to implement quality control protocols in geochemical assays to validate the historical database to bolster geological reliability.
San Diego Project. This project is located in the municipality of Madero, 48 km south of the city of Morelia, in the state of Michoacán. In 2018, a diamond drilling campaign of 4,290 meters was completed, and results indicated the possible presence of a copper, molybdenum and gold porphyry deposit. In 2025, the company plans to conduct a diamond drilling program of 5,000 meters and analyze 2,000 core samples to further verify the geophysical anomaly detected by induced polarization.
Chile
El Salado (Montonero) is a copper-gold prospect located in the Atacama region, northern Chile, has been under exploration for copper and molybdenum porphyry since 2014. In 2016 and 2017, the company conducted a diamond drilling program of 22,108 meters and finished the conceptual study. In 2022 and 2023, the company concluded the pre-feasibility study of the project. In 2024, the company reviewed the information to develop a scoping plan for the project and determined a potential resource of 123 million tonnes of ‘mineable’ sulfides with a grade of 0.54% copper and 0.11 grams of gold per tonne. For 2025, the company plans to continue drilling work to obtain geo-metallurgical, geotechnical, and hydrogeological information, which will be used to develop the feasibility study.
Ecuador
Chaucha. The Ruta del Cobre ('Copper Road') project is located in the west of Cuenca city and south of Guayaquil. The mineralization in this area is characteristic of a copper-molybdenum porphyry system which is being explored since 2014. In 2021, the infill-drilling program was concluded, totaling 121,000 meters of diamond drilling. With this information, the company prepared the project's feasibility study, which concluded in 2022. The results of this study did not meet the company´s commercial expectations and efforts were suspended in 2023.
Argentina
In 2011, the company started exploration activities in Argentina in the Neuquen Province. In 2015, the company performed geological exploration in the Salta, Rio Negro and Neuquen provinces where the company expected to locate copper porphyry with precious metals epithermal systems. Starting 2017, the company performed prospection and geological evaluation work in the provinces of San Juan and Rio Negro with the exploration of silver-gold epithermal systems through geological mapping and surface sampling. In 2021, superficial geological and geochemical work was concluded at the Cerro La Mina and Tanque Negro prospects. In 2023, the company developed surface geochemical and geological studies at the province of Catamarca. With the results of these studies, the company is evaluating different areas.
Cañadon del Moro is a silver and gold low sulfidation epithermal deposit with high longitude seams located in the Rio Negro province. The company conducted a diamond drilling program of 10,164 meters through 2022. In 2023 and 2024, the company conducted the Conceptual Study and estimated indicated and inferred resources of 6.2 million tonnes with a grade of 6.0 ounces of silver per tonne, and prospective resources of 15.0 million tonnes. For 2025, the company plans to conduct a diamond drilling program of 2,000 meters to reclassify and increase the estimated resources to date.
Esperanza Project. Geological exploration work that has been carried out using geophysical, geochemical methods, and satellite images. A system of gold-bearing veins of economically prospective interest was determined, and with an initial drilling campaign of 2,000 meters, three areas of interest associated with the main structure were identified. For 2025, the company plans to conduct a drilling campaign of 4,000 meters to dimension the economic potential in depth.
Caldera Project is located in the Rio Negro province and includes the Cerro La Mina, Tanque Negro, Cerro Abanico, and Cristal prospects. For 2025, the company plans to evaluate these areas of interest to determine their potential, envisioning the formation of an operating cluster.
History
Southern Copper Corporation was founded in 1952. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1952.
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