According to foreign news on July 14, Peru's energy and mining minister said that in 2016, Peru is expected to double its current copper production, thus restoring its status as the world's second largest copper producer.

During a visit to the Cerro Verde copper mine, Minister Eleodoro Mayorga Alba said the country's total production will reach 2.8 million tonnes in 2016, compared to 1.4 million tonnes in 2013. This is thanks to five large-scale projects that will begin operations.

Mayorga Alba mentioned that Freeport-McMoRan's $4.6 billion expansion of Cerro Verde, due to be completed in the first quarter of 2016, is one of them.

According to data provided by CRU Consulting, China is currently the second largest copper producer, with an annual output of about 1.6 million tons, much lower than Chile's annual output of nearly 5.8 million tons.

The world's largest copper producer - the largest Chilean National Copper Company (Codelco), followed by Freeport McMorran Copper and Gold, Glencore and

The increase is roughly equivalent to the annual output of the Escondida copper mine in Chile. The world's largest copper mine supplies about 5% of the world's total.

Official figures show that Peru holds 13% of the world's copper reserves, 4% of gold reserves, 22% of silver reserves, 7.6% of zinc, 9% of lead and 6% of tin.