2018 brought three significant pieces of good news to the industry in Peru: the US$1.3 billion expansion project at the Toromocho copper mine, operated by Chinalco; the start of construction of Mina Justa, a US$1.7 billion copper project; and the final green light by Anglo American to build the Quellaveco copper operation, a project with an estimated capex between US$5 billion and US$5.3 billion. 

On top of these investments, Shougang and Southern Copper completed their respective expansion projects at Marcona (iron ore) and Toquepala (copper) during 2018 as well. Putting figures into perspective, total mining investment amounted to US$4.95 billion in 2018, according to the latest information released by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM). This represents close to a 26% increase over the US$3.93 billion investment in 2017.