Column: Trump 2.0 won’t reverse Biden’s critical minerals push
Donald Trump has described the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a "green scam" and vowed to repeal it after he returns to the White House in January.
Copper giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) said on Monday that its Cerro Verde mine in Peru was operating, though limited by the government’s extension of a state of emergency to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The world’s largest publicly traded copper producer had temporarily placed the mine into care and maintenance last month to comply with national measures aimed at containing the spread of covid-19.
It has been in talks with the Peruvian government since then to resume limited operations, and said it was completing steps to provide additional onsite facilities and enhanced health protocols to enable production to increase.
Freeport has been in talks with the Peruvian government since then to resume limited operations
On Sunday, the company had said it was suspending operations at its Chino copper mine in New Mexico indefinitely due to the increasing cases of coronavirus cases among its employees and in the US in general.
Chino mine, in New Mexico’s southwest, produced 175 million pounds of copper last year, making it the company’s third-largest North American mine by production.
Three of the mine’s employees tested positive for the virus earlier this month. On Sunday, Freeport told Reuters that more people had tested positive, but added the contagion was not “widespread,” without providing specific numbers.
Cerro Verde, controlled by Freeport-McMoRan with a 53.6% stake, Sumitomo Metal (21%) and Buenaventura (19.6%), produced just under 1 billion pounds of copper last year, making it Peru’s top copper mine.
Peru is the world’s no. 2 copper producer and mining accounts for about 60% of its export earnings.
