The company has spent over $700 million and targets initial output by late 2027.
Southern Copper reported on 15 September 2026 that its Tia Maria copper project in the Islay province of Arequipa, Peru, has surpassed 47% progress. The company aims to complete construction and start copper production toward the end of 2027.
Oscar Rodriguez, director of plant engineering and new process development at Southern Peru, stated at Expomina 2026 that the company has already executed over $700 million on the project. In addition, more than $1,000 million has been committed to buy equipment scheduled to arrive in the country soon.
The open-pit operation has a projected capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of copper cathodes with 99.999% purity. It includes the La Tapada deposit, which holds 420 million tons of reserves with an average copper grade of 0.43%, and the Tia Maria deposit, which has 225 million tons of reserves with an average copper grade of 0.19%.
The project will not use river or local basin water. It will operate a desalination plant in the Mejia district to pump seawater to the Cachendo processing area. Regarding local hiring, the company expanded its direct local workforce from 100 to 300 workers from the Tambo Valley, alongside 230 local interns and graduates added gradually since 2024.
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