Chinese firm CMS looking to start US$3.5bn Galeno copper project 'as soon as possible'

China Minmetals Corporation (CMC), which holds a 67.7% majority stake in mining company MMG, is assessing whether it will be possible to move forward shortly with its US$3.5bn Galeno copper project in northern Peru’s Cajamarca region.

The Chinese company, which controls Minera Las Bambas through MMG's 62.5% stake in the firm and directly owns 60% of Galeno, is reportedly looking to start the project as soon as it can. However, various studies, including the environmental impact assessment (EIA), will need to be restarted.

"The project has been on standby for 10 years. We need to resume various studies, and they take time. Once that is done, we want to start the project as soon as possible," Ivo Zhao, president of Minera Las Bambas, said in an interview with the Peruvian institute of mining engineers (IIMP).

According to the energy and mines ministry (Minem), Galeno is a greenfield copper project located at an altitude of 3,800m above sea level in Celendín province. 

The project will be carried out by Lumina Copper, a Peruvian company owned by CMC (60%) and Jiangxi Copper Corporation (40%).

Galeno will be an open-pit mine expected to produce approximately 144,000t/y of copper, along with an estimated 82,000oz gold, 2Moz silver and molybdenum.