Quellaveco copper mine in Peru could be reactivated

Quellaveco mine. Photo by Fluor Corp.

U.S.-based construction firm Fluor Corp subcontracted earth-moving work on the Quellaveco copper mine in Peru to local company Grana y Montero, in a sign the stalled $5 billion project could be reactivated.

Grana said in a statement it had won a tender from Fluor for $53.9 million for work on Quellaveco, which is controlled by miner Anglo American. The work would last about 16 months, Grana said.

Fluor won a contract in 2014 to provide construction management and early works execution for the Quellaveco project in southern Peru. Fluor and Anglo American did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Quellaveco, which could produce some 225,000 tons of copper annually, has the permits needed for its development but has been stalled since 2013. An Anglo executive told Reuters a year ago the project could be executed by the end of 2018.

Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Caroline Stauffer, Editing by Franklin Paul.