Southern Copper Corporation, incorporated on September 7, 1995, is an integrated copper producer. The Company principally produces copper and, in the production process, obtains several by-products, including molybdenum, silver, zinc, sulfuric acid and other metals. It operates through three segments: the Peruvian operations, the Mexican open-pit operations and the Mexican underground mining operations segment identified as the IMMSA unit. The Peruvian operations segment includes the Toquepala and Cuajone mine complexes, and the smelting and refining plants, including a metals plant industrial railroad and port facilities that service both mines. The Mexican open-pit operations segment includes the La Caridad and Buenavista mine complexes, and the smelting and refining plants, including a metals plant and a copper rod plant, and support facilities that service both mines. As of December 31, 2016, the Mexican underground mining operations segment included five underground mines that produce zinc, copper, silver and gold, a coal mine and a zinc refinery. The Company's operations include open-pit and underground mining, concentrating, copper smelting, copper refining, copper rod production, solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX-EW), zinc refining, sulfuric acid production, molybdenum concentrate production, and silver and gold refining.
The Company's San Luis Potosi electrolytic zinc refinery is located in the city of San Luis Potosi, in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The city of San Luis Potosi is connected to its refinery by a major highway. It conducts its primary operations in Peru through a registered branch (the Peruvian Branch or Branch or SPCC Peru Branch). The Company's Mexican operations are conducted through subsidiaries. The Company also conducts exploration activities in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
Peruvian operations
The Peruvian copper operations segment involves mining, milling and flotation of copper ore to produce copper concentrates and molybdenum concentrates; the smelting of copper concentrates to produce anode copper, and the refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes. As part of this production process, it also produces amounts of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid. Its precious metals plant at the Ilo refinery produces refined silver, gold, and other materials. Additionally, it produces refined copper using solvent extraction/electrowinning technology (SX-EW). It operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines high in the Andes Mountains, approximately 860 kilometers southeast of the city of Lima, Peru. It also operates a smelter and refinery west of the Toquepala and Cuajone mines in the coastal city of Ilo, Peru.
The Company's Toquepala operations consist of an open-pit copper mine and a concentrator. It also refines copper at the SX-EW facility through a leaching process. Toquepala is located in southern Peru, 30 kilometers from Cuajone and 870 kilometers from Lima, at an altitude of 3,220 meters above sea level. The deposit is part of a mineral district that contains two additional known deposits, Cuajone and Quellaveco. The deposit is in a territory with intrusive and eruptive activities of rhyolitic and andesitic rocks. Ore minerals include chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), chalcosine (Cu2S) and molybdenite (MoS2). The SX-EW facility at Toquepala produces electrowon copper cathodes. Its Ilo smelter produces copper anodes for the refinery the Company operates as part of the same facility. The Ilo refinery consists of an electrolytic plant, a precious metal plant and various ancillary installations. The refinery produces copper cathode.
Mexican open-pit operations
The Mexican open-pit segment operations combine two units of Minera Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Minera Mexico), La Caridad and Buenavista. Its Mexican operations are conducted through its subsidiary, Minera Mexico, which engages primarily in the mining and processing of copper, molybdenum, zinc, silver, gold and lead. Minera Mexico operates through subsidiaries that are grouped into over three separate units. Mexicana de Cobre S.A. de C.V. (together with its subsidiaries, the La Caridad unit) operates La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, a copper ore concentrator, a SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery and a rod plant. The La Caridad refinery has a metals plant, which produces refined silver, gold and other materials. Operadora de Minas e Instalaciones Mineras S.A de C.V. (the Buenavista unit) operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine and a copper concentrator. The Buenavista unit operates a leaching facility and over three SX-EW plants. The La Caridad complex includes an open-pit mine, concentrator, smelter, copper refinery, precious metals refinery, rod plant, SX-EW plant, lime plant and over two sulfuric acid plants. The La Caridad deposit is a porphyry copper and molybdenum deposit.
Mexican IMMSA unit
As of December 31, 2016, the Company's Mexican IMMSA unit segment operated five underground mining complexes situated in central and northern Mexico, which produces zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold, and has a coal mine. These complexes include industrial processing facilities for zinc, lead, copper and silver. IMMSA's principal mining facilities include Charcas, Santa Barbara, San Martin, Santa Eulalia and Taxco. The Charcas mining complex is located 111 kilometers north of the city of San Luis Potosi in the State of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. As of December 31, 2016, the complex included three underground mines (San Bartolo, Rey-Reina and La Aurora) and one flotation plant that produces zinc, lead and copper concentrates, with amounts of silver. The ore mineralogy comprises calcopyrite (CuFeS2), sphalerite (ZnS), galena (PbS) and silver minerals as diaphorite (Pb2Ag3Sb3S8).
The Company's Santa Barbara mining complex is located approximately 26 kilometers southwest of the city of Hidalgo del Parral in southern Chihuahua, Mexico. As of December 31, 2016, the Santa Barbara included three main underground mines (San Diego, Segovedad and Tecolotes) and a flotation plant, and produces lead, copper and zinc concentrates, with amounts of silver. The mining district of Santa Eulalia is located in the central part of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The main mines in Santa Eulalia are The Buena Tierra mine and the San Antonio mine. The economic ore includes sphalerite (ZnS), galena (PbS) and small quantities of pyrargyrite (Ag3SbS3). Its San Martin mining complex is located in the municipality of Sombrerete in the western part of the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. The complex includes an underground mine and a flotation plant. The ore body contains lead, copper and zinc concentrates, with amounts of silver. The Taxco mining complex is located on the outskirts of the city of Taxco in the northern part of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. The complex includes several underground mines (San Antonio, Guerrero and Remedios) and a flotation plant, and produces lead and zinc concentrates, with some amounts of gold and silver.
1440 E Missouri Ave Ste 160
The company trades on NYSE exchange. The company headquarter is located in Arizona, AZ. The company was established in the 1952.| Ticker | SCCO |
| Long Name | Southern Copper Corporation |
| Short Name | Southern Copper |