Peru’s Southern Corridor: Sustainable Development and Reliable Passage

November 2 ,2021

Over the past decades, Peru’s southern region has gained relevance within the mining industry through the development of large concessions, the most significant being Las Bambas, Toquepala, Cerro Verde, Antapaccay, and Constancia.  Moreover, higher metal prices have peaked investor interest and enhanced the pipeline of future projects. Concurrently, infrastructure development such as the Southern Road Corridor, ports, and rail access have fostered the interconnection of the coast with the departments of Cusco, Apurimac, Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna, locations that all told could host more than 15 new projects.

In spite of these tantalizing fundamentals, the region has seen expressions of discontent by surrounding communities over labor, environmental, and other issues that has slowed growth and at times even ground it to a halt.  Road blockades leading to the Las Bambas site over the past few years have caused well over 300 days of works stoppages, while Southern Copper’s Tia Maria project hasn’t even seen the light of day in spite of the company’s fulfillment of its contractual obligations and adherence to the law.

Such obstacles not only impact companies’ bottom lines, but through lost production at a time of historically high metals prices, also deny much needed government revenues that ultimately benefit communities through greater development.  The priority for the government and mining companies must be to develop a strategy for maintaining social well-being and predictable passage through the Southern Corridor. The expansion of the southern zone and the corridor itself should contemplate the development of the area of influence in a sustainable manner to take full advantage the regions’ geological potential.