- Peru: Mining investment reached its highest first-quarter level since 2015
Mining investment totaled USD 1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026 (chart 1), up 43.7% YoY (1Q25: USD 1.04 billion), marking the highest amount for a first quarter since 2015. The increase was mainly driven by companies with projects in the pipeline—both greenfield linked to new operations and brownfield tied to expansions, replacements and optimizations—as well as by higher sustaining and expansion capex aimed at existing operations.
Among the leading contributors (table 1), Southern Peru (+29.9% YoY) stood out, currently advancing construction of the Tía María project, a greenfield copper development located in Arequipa, which reached 32.5% progress as of 1Q26, according to the company. Buenaventura (+37.0% YoY) also showed strong growth, supported by post-start-up capex at San Gabriel, its greenfield gold project in Moquegua. While commercial start-up had been scheduled for 1Q26, some delays occurred due to permitting.
Las Bambas (+91.9% YoY) and Cerro Verde (+26.2% YoY) also increased investment, associated with brownfield initiatives such as the Ferrobamba Replacement and Cerro Verde Optimization projects, respectively.
Shougang ranked as the second-largest investor during the period, driven by brownfield investments aimed at expanding and sustaining operations in Marcona. These include plant upgrades, infrastructure improvements and operational development. In 2025, Senace approved modifications worth around USD 327 million related to its mining unit. The company has also announced plans to extend the life of Marcona by 24 years, with an estimated investment of USD 1.82 billion covering construction, operation and closure.
Although the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ pipeline includes large greenfield projects, mining investment is currently being driven mainly by brownfield projects and sustaining capex. Tía María stands out as the main new project under execution, but most of the momentum comes from replacements, expansions, optimizations and operational improvements at existing assets, in a context of strong metal prices.
Mining production also posted a positive performance in 1Q26 (table 2), growing 1.2% YoY. At the metal level, results were mixed. Copper production increased 3.3% YoY in 1Q26, supported by higher output at Antamina (+41.7% YoY), driven by better ore grades and improved operational performance, according to the company, and at Las Bambas (+5.5% YoY), explained by improved recovery rates and higher grades from Ferrobamba. This performance partly offset declines at other operations such as Cerro Verde (−2.3% YoY), Southern Peru (−9.8% YoY) and Quellaveco (−8.2% YoY), which were affected by lower ore grades.
Zinc production also grew (+2.0% YoY), as lower output at Antamina (−19.9% YoY)—which prioritized copper and silver production over zinc zones—and at Volcan (−12.8% YoY) was offset by higher production at other operations, including Nexa Peru, Shouxin, Los Quenuales and Chinalco. Iron ore production rose as well (+1.9% YoY). In contrast, tin (−0.8% YoY), lead (−4.0% YoY) and molybdenum (−9.2% YoY) recorded declines.
Gold production fell 3.4% YoY in the first quarter. Yanacocha increased output (+37.1% YoY), supported by higher recovery through reprocessing methods in a mature stage of the mine. According to Newmont sources in May, this recovery accounts for about 44% of Yanacocha’s total gold production and 65% of its silver output, and has helped extend the mine’s life by four to five years. This contribution helped offset lower production at mines in La Libertad, such as Poderosa (−11.2% YoY), Retamas (−10.9% YoY) and Boroo (−18.5% YoY), which were affected by lower grades and the expansion of illegal mining. Silver production increased (+2.3% YoY), mainly supported by Antamina.
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