Southern Copper sees Tia Maria mine go-ahead despite protests

Southern Copper expects to obtain a construction permit for its $1.4-billion Tia Maria copper project, in Peru, in the next few months, a senior executive said on Tuesday, playing down concerns that local opposition may disrupt its development. Speaking on the sidelines of the CRU Copper conference, Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, the CEO and president, said the mine in the Arequipa region is slated to go into production by the end of 2017 or the start of 2018.