Southern Copper Corporation

“Our Tia Maria project is reaching half completion this month, and significant goals have been achieved on different construction fronts. As planned, we have finished pre-stripping works at the La Tapada deposit to uncover areas where mineral can be extracted when we begin operations.

Tia Maria is the long-delayed Peruvian build that will decide whether the $170.8 billion miner grows into the next copper cycle, and management now puts it at the halfway mark with pre-stripping done. That shifts the timeline conversation from permitting risk to first production.

“We are very pleased with our strong third-quarter performance, which delivered a record for net sales, adjusted EBITDA and net income. These achievements were thanks to our strategy and disciplined cost control at the operational level.

Larrea is claiming a clean sweep of records in the third quarter, with sales, adjusted EBITDA and net income all at highs for the $170.8 billion copper miner. That credit goes to cost control, which matters as Peru's revoked Tia Maria permit clouds the growth pipeline.

“These two greenfield projects are expected to add approximately 156,000 tonnes of refined copper to our total annual production. With the contribution of Tia Maria and El Pilar we will surpass the one-million tonnes mark for annual production, of which 85% will be refined copper.

Southern Copper is putting a date on membership in the million-tonne club, with Tia Maria and El Pilar carrying the load as copper trades at record prices and new mines take roughly 17 years to build. Execution risk sits in Peru, where fast-tracked mining has revived conflict concerns.

“As the global economy continues to navigate the economic and inflationary pressures generated by persistent geopolitical conflicts, the Company has continued to successfully execute its strategic priorities. We are advancing toward our goal of increasing production to 1.6 million tonnes, while maintaining the disciplined cost management and operational efficiency that have long defined our business.

Larrea is reaffirming the 1.6 million tonne production target on the Q3 call, keeping the $170.8 billion miner's growth plan intact while Peru and Mexico policy risk hangs over Latin American copper supply. Cost discipline is the other half of the pitch for anyone holding this as a copper price proxy.