Producer
Southern Copper Corporation
Copper mining and smelting company (NYSE: SCCO; HQ Mexico City; ~$10B revenue); controlled by Grupo Mexico (77% stake). Southern Copper is the world's largest copper reserves holder and operates major mines and smelters in Mexico (La Caridad, Buenavista del Cobre — one of the world's largest copper mines) and Peru (Toquepala, Cuajone). SX-EW cathode production at Toquepala and Cuajone in Moquegua/Tacna, Peru. Southern Copper's Mexican operations include the IMMSA division (zinc/lead/copper refineries in San Luis Potosí). The company's La Caridad smelter in Sonora, Mexico is one of the largest copper smelters in the Americas. Southern Copper has a significant SX-EW cathode production footprint in Peru's southern copper belt.
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Inputs supplied
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Goods downstream
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Facilities
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Stories
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3 inputs Southern Copper Corporation supplies
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Peru Copper Mining
55%Mexico Copper Mining (Buena Vista)
35%Smelting & Refining
10%
Intelligence
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Chokepoint2023
Southern Copper controls the world's largest known copper reserves (~58 million tonnes Cu, approximately 12% of global proven reserves) at its mines in Peru and Mexico. As global copper demand accelerates due to EV electrification, power grid expansion, and renewable energy, Southern Copper's reserve position becomes increasingly strategic. Yet Southern Copper is 77% owned by Grupo Mexico, a Mexican conglomerate controlled by one family (the Larrea family through Americas Mining Corporation) -- meaning a single Mexican family controls 12% of the world's known copper reserves. The company's expansion plans (Tia Maria in Peru, expansion at Buena Vista in Mexico) face permitting challenges including indigenous community opposition. The availability of copper for the energy transition is partly determined by one family's investment decisions and their ability to navigate community relations in Peru and Mexico.
Southern Copper Corporation ↗Origin2023
Southern Copper Corporation was established in 1952 as Southern Peru Copper Corporation -- a joint venture between Asarco (American Smelting and Refining Company), Phelps Dodge, and other US mining companies to develop Peru's rich copper deposits in Moquegua and Tacna. The US mining consortium received favorable concessions from the Peruvian government during the 1950s Cold War era, when Peru was seeking US investment. The Larrea family's Grupo Mexico progressively acquired Asarco's interests and eventually became the 77% controlling shareholder. Today a Mexican family controls the world's largest copper reserves holder through this Cold War-era US joint venture that was originally structured to give American mining companies access to Peruvian minerals. The Buena Vista del Cobre mine in Sonora, Mexico (the world's largest copper mine by area) was also incorporated into Southern Copper when Grupo Mexico restructured its mining assets.
Southern Copper Corporation ↗