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Peru is seeking Australian capital and mining expertise to help advance a $92 billion project pipeline as it strengthens trade ties and looks to capture more value from its mineral resources.
The country is targeting mining investment across 66 projects over the next five years, with opportunities spanning copper and critical minerals, processing, engineering, technology and industrial supply.
A 60-strong Peruvian delegation is in Sydney for the International Mining and Resources Conference, where Deputy Minister of Mines Mayra Figueroa is making the case for long-term investment.
PROMPERÚ Senior Trade Commissioner in Australia Soledad Campos de Parry said Peru wanted to build lasting commercial partnerships with Australian investors and businesses.
“As we forge deeper, long-term economic partnerships, we want Australian investors to see Peru as more than a source of minerals, but as an opportunity to deploy capital, build businesses and establish long-term commercial partnerships,” Campos de Parry said.
Australian companies are already expanding their presence in the country. Fortescue has acquired Alta Copper and its Cañariaco copper project, Dyno Nobel is opening a plant to supply mines in southern Peru, and phosphate company Bifox is pursuing a development at Bayóvar in the country’s north.
The investments point to the range of ways Australian businesses can gain exposure to Peru’s resources sector, from direct project ownership to supplying established operations.
A broader investment relationship
Peru’s pitch is centred on its mineral resources, project pipeline and Pacific connections, but its ambitions extend beyond exporting raw materials.
The country is targeting investment in processing and value-added manufacturing, supported by a network of 25 trade agreements. These include the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Campos de Parry said Peru’s new Port of Chancay was strengthening its connections with Asia-Pacific markets and creating opportunities for businesses operating in the country.
She also identified Marcona, in Peru’s south, as a potential hub for mineral processing and other value-added mining activities.
Processing, infrastructure and industrial supply could all form part of the commercial relationship Peru is seeking to develop with Australia.
“We are seeing a growing two-way commercial relationship with Australian businesses seeking new markets for their technology, engineering and services and Peru seeking capital and expertise to advance its resources sector,” Campos de Parry said.
According to PROMPERÚ, more than 300 Australian companies operate in Latin America, with one in three active in mining, mining equipment, technology and services (METS), infrastructure and energy.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade data cited by PROMPERÚ shows trade with Latin America has grown almost 40 per cent over the past five years, with total two-way trade now approaching $20 billion a year.
Queensland is also targeting the region through a government trade mission to Peru focused on critical minerals collaboration and opportunities for METS companies.
Free trade and project development
PAFTA came into effect in 2020. Campos de Parry said the agreement had made it easier for Australian companies to do business in Peru, including by removing duties on almost all Australian exports, including mining equipment.
“Australian engineers and service providers can compete on equal terms. And investors have stronger protections and clearer rules, which is exactly what you need when you commit capital to a mine for twenty or thirty years,” she told Australian Resources & Investment.
Alongside the investments by Fortescue, Dyno Nobel and Bifox, Campos de Parry pointed to explorer AusQuest, which she said was drilling a copper discovery on Peru’s southern coast.
The trade commissioner said predictability was central to Peru’s investment proposition, citing the country’s macroeconomic settings and equal treatment of foreign and domestic investors.
She also said the government was working to reduce delays and overlapping procedures without lowering environmental or social standards. Smaller exploration projects could now be approved in about 30 business days, she said, and work was underway to remove or simplify around 40 per cent of mining procedures.
Campos de Parry said the Peruvian government had proposed directing more mining tax revenue towards communities closest to operations. Under Peru’s canon minero system, a share of the income tax paid by mining companies is distributed to regional and local governments.
“When communities see the benefits, projects are stronger. And that is something Australian miners already understand very well,” she said.
For project investors, approvals and community benefits sit alongside geology and infrastructure as factors to consider when assessing opportunities.
Fortescue’s copper move
Fortescue’s acquisition of Alta Copper is one of the most prominent recent Australian moves into Peru.
Completed through its wholly owned subsidiary Nascent Exploration, the acquisition gives the Perth-based company the Cañariaco copper project in a porphyry copper corridor in northern Peru.
The project forms part of Fortescue’s move to diversify beyond iron ore and provides an example of how Peru’s copper pipeline is attracting established Australian mining capital.
Australian participation is not confined to mine ownership. Queensland-based explosives and blasting company Dyno Nobel is expanding its South American operations with a new $17 million plant in southern Peru, which is opening this month to supply major copper mines.
The plant demonstrates another route into the market: investing in the industrial capacity needed to support operating mines.
Campos de Parry said there were opportunities for Australian mining technology and engineering companies in automation, water management, mineral processing and technologies that improve mine productivity.
“We want to see more Australian businesses take their expertise into Peru, establish local partnerships and become part of the country’s growing mining supply chain,” she said.
A technical assistance program has also been launched to support Peruvian METS companies seeking to enter the Australian market.
Bifox looks to Bayóvar
For Sydney-headquartered Bifox, Peru offers a base from which to pursue growing phosphate demand across the United States, Latin America, India and Asia.
“We are experiencing strong demand from potential off-take groups looking to diversify their supply away from the Middle East towards a more geopolitically stable environment represented by Peru and South America-based supply,” Bifox chief executive officer Tim Koster told ARI.
The company announced a deal involving Fospac’s 550-million tonne phosphate project Bayóvar in northern Peru in June.
Koster said the company had acquired an initial 16.9 per cent stake in the Bayóvar resource and had the right to complete the remainder of the transaction over the next 12 months.
Koster sees the planned development as a long-term opportunity, citing the project’s proximity to a port, power and transport infrastructure, access to skilled workers and a strong business environment as key factors.
The project is about 15 kilometres from a port, which he said is economically advantageous.
“Every time you do a project, you’ve got to be near a port to make it logistically work,” he said.
Koster said nearby Piura university town could provide qualified workers for a proposed new plant. Bifox estimates the facility would employ about 560 people directly and support around 5000 indirect jobs in northern Peru.
He described the Peruvian government as supportive of the project, saying officials were very proactive assisting with progressing environmental approvals, assisted by PROMPERÚ.
“Peru is a mining and business-friendly environment,” Koster said.
Koster said Bifox is targeting an initial 2.5 million tonnes per annum from 2030, scaling up to five million tonnes per annum thereafter.
This positions Bifox as one of the largest new emerging phosphate producers globally, according to Koster. The company is targeting a 2027 Nasdaq IPO, mandated through Morgan Stanley.
Beyond the mine gate
Peru’s $92 billion target is an investment ambition across 66 projects, rather than capital already committed. Turning that pipeline into operating assets will depend on projects progressing through development and approvals and securing the investment they need.
For Australian businesses, the opportunities include backing a mineral project, investing in processing and infrastructure, or supplying the technology and services required to develop and operate mines.
From Fortescue’s copper ambitions to Bifox’s phosphate plans and Dyno Nobel’s new plant, the relationship is already taking shape across several parts of the mining supply chain. Peru is now seeking to build on those examples, positioning closer trade ties as a platform for Australian investors and businesses to take a larger role in its resources sector.
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