By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes
Reuters
Peru’s gold output will likely drop by 20 percent this year and keep falling through 2016 as aging mines churn out less of the precious metal and a government crackdown curbs informal production, a ministry official said on Friday.
Peru’s Deputy Mines Minister Guillermo Shinno told Reuters that copper production is seen rising by 9 percent this year to around 1.5 million tonnes, less than the government’s previous estimate of an increase of between 10 percent and 14 percent.
Shinno said in an interview that new mines will likely add at least another 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes of copper to Peru’s annual output in 2015 – an increase of about 30 percent.
Gold output, however, will continue to decline until 2017, when several small mines will support a rebound, Shinno said.