Southern Copper Corporation
Encyclopedia
Southern Copper Corporation ( / BVC
: SCCO) is a mining company originally founded in 1952. The current incarnation Southern Copper can be traced to the 2005 acquisition of Mexican copper producer Minera México by Southern Peru Copper Corporation.
Currently, 75.1 percent of Southern Copper is owned by Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo México
. Based on 2007 reserves data, Southern Copper is the world's largest publicly traded copper mining company and the world's seventh largest copper mining company based on 2007 sales. In addition, the firm is the eighth largest copper smelting
company. The firm ranks among the world's largest producers of molybdenum
, silver
, and zinc
.
The company is a major producer and refiner of copper, molybdenum, zinc, silver, lead, and gold, and operates mines and smelters in Mexico and in Peru, in the Andes
mountains southeast of Lima
.
and northern Mexico.
s. The two mines produced a total of 359,655 tons of copper in 2007, with Cuajone producing 182,117 tons and Toquepala producing 177,538 tons respectively.
A recent strike at the largest mine, Cuajone, was suspended pending mediation
between the two parties.
La Caridad, located in northern Mexico, produced 124,972 tons of copper in 2007.
BVC
BVC can refer to:*Bar Professional Training Course , a postgraduate course*Bassingbourn Village College, a secondary school in Cambridgeshire*Blanchard Valley Conference, a Northwest Ohio High School athletic conference...
: SCCO) is a mining company originally founded in 1952. The current incarnation Southern Copper can be traced to the 2005 acquisition of Mexican copper producer Minera México by Southern Peru Copper Corporation.
Currently, 75.1 percent of Southern Copper is owned by Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo México
Grupo México
Grupo México is the largest mining corporation in Mexico and the third largest copper producer in the world.Ferrocarril Mexicano , the company's rail transport division, operates the nation's largest rail fleet.-History:...
. Based on 2007 reserves data, Southern Copper is the world's largest publicly traded copper mining company and the world's seventh largest copper mining company based on 2007 sales. In addition, the firm is the eighth largest copper smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
company. The firm ranks among the world's largest producers of molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
.
The company is a major producer and refiner of copper, molybdenum, zinc, silver, lead, and gold, and operates mines and smelters in Mexico and in Peru, in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
mountains southeast of Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
.
Major operations
The firm's operations are primarily within southern PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and northern Mexico.
Operations in southern Peru
Current southern Peruvian operations include the mines located at the Cuajone and Toquepala mineToquepala mine
The Toquepala mine is a large porphyry copper mine in the Tacna Province, Tacna Department, Peru. The mine is an open-pit mine producing copper, molybdenum, rhenium and silver with minor gold and zinc....
s. The two mines produced a total of 359,655 tons of copper in 2007, with Cuajone producing 182,117 tons and Toquepala producing 177,538 tons respectively.
A recent strike at the largest mine, Cuajone, was suspended pending mediation
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
between the two parties.
Operations in Mexico
Cananea, located in northern Mexico, produced 98,503 tons of copper in 2007. It is among the world's largest copper mines in terms of reserves, and has the longest remaining mine life of any major open-pit copper mine in the world, based on current production levels.La Caridad, located in northern Mexico, produced 124,972 tons of copper in 2007.
External links
- http://www.southerncoppercorp.com/
- http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2008/06/23/20080623biz-copper0623.html
- http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:PCU
- http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUKN2142100020080721
- http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/249953