Southern Copper’s $1.4B Tía María Project Delayed by Ongoing Social Unrest in Peru

On March 2025 and continuing into late May, the Tía María copper project in Peru’s southern Arequipa region faced renewed waves of community resistance, reflecting a long-standing social conflict between local farmers and the mining sector. The project, owned by Southern Copper Corporation, aims to extract approximately 120,000 tons of copper annually and has been touted as a key investment to boost Peru’s mining output. However, despite receiving government approval and updated environmental certifications, the project continues to lack a critical element: the social license to operate. A 48-hour regional strike was called in March by residents of Cocachacra and surrounding districts in the Tambo Valley, protesting the project’s potential impacts on agriculture and water security.