Komatsu-Mitsui says it continues to drive innovation in the Peruvian mining industry by incorporating state-of-the-art technological solutions. In a recent interview with Día1 de El Comercio, Julio Molina, CEO of the company, said that Southern Copper Corp’s Tía María project will soon mark a milestone by becoming the first project in Peru that will operate with Komatsu’s autonomous equipment.
A fleet of 30 autonomous Caterpillar 794AC trucks is already operating at Anglo American’s Quellaveco mine in the country, which were supplied by Cat dealer Ferreyros.
In the interview, Molina said that the introduction of Komatsu’s autonomous haulage – the FrontRunner system – will significantly raise the standards of safety, productivity and efficiency in Peru’s mining operations, also contributing to a more sustainable and modern mining.
The executive also pointed out that the company maintains a positive outlook regarding the development of the sector in Peru, projecting important growth opportunities and evaluating new investments that strengthen its presence in the country.
Komatsu-Mitsui highlights that this advance is part of its global commitment to the digital transformation of mining, positioning itself as a strategic partner for its customers on the path to safer, more efficient and innovative operations.
The project is in the Islay Province in the Arequipa region, with the first deliveries of mining trucks, shovels, front-end loaders and other equipment scheduled for mid-2027.
Southern Copper is part of Grupo México, and the order for Tía María has previously been outlined in the 2022 project Technical Report as including the delivery of 18 290 t class 930E trucks, two P&H 4100XPC-AC electric shovels, a P&H L-2350 loader and two P&H 320XPC blasthole drills. Molina cited a figure of 14 trucks but this will ramp up to 18 during the peak production years. These trucks are likely to be the latest 930E-5 variant.
The process design is based on existing technologies and proven equipment. The design includes crushing, agglomeration and curing, dynamic heap leaching, and SX/EW. The process facilities are designed to treat a nominal rate of 100,000 t/d of copper oxide ore and produce 120,000 t/y of copper cathodes as final product. The Tía María process facility is expected to operate for 20 years, processing oxide ore from the La Tapada deposit for the first half of the LOM, and from both the La Tapada and Tía María deposits for the second half of the LOM plan.
ROM ore will be transported from the mine in the 290 t dump trucks and dumped into a 450 t live capacity hopper. The hopper will feed a 60″ x 113″ gyratory crusher with a nominal capacity
of 6,410 t/h and an open side setting (OSS) to generate a passing 80% product (P80) of 201.4 mm. The crushed material will discharge to a 600 t live capacity surge bin that will gravity feed a plate feeder.
Initially, a primary crushing unit will be installed and operated at the planned La Tapada open pit until the oxidised material is mined out. Subsequently, a crusher will be installed and operated next to the proposed Tía María open pit. A plate feeder under the surge bin will take the crushed ore to a sacrificial belt that will then transfer the ore to a system of three overland conveyor belts operating in series. The overland conveyors will transfer the crushed ore to a coarse ore feed belt that will feed a covered coarse ore stockpile with a 60,000 t capacity through a chute.
The proposed plant will consist of primary, secondary and tertiary crushing, agglomeration/curing circuit, stacking of agglomerated ore onto two dynamic heap leach facilities, two irrigation stages on the heaps, and a SX/EW circuit. The final product will be copper cathodes. The design contemplates an estimated copper cathode production of 14 t/h, with a 99.999 % Cu purity and a current efficiency of 91%. Power will be supplied from the existing 220 kV Moquegua sub-station to a 220 kV/23 kV Tía María sub-station via an approximately 100 km long transmission line.
As of March 31, 2026, the company had committed US$948 million across various project activities. Large scale earthmoving works had moved 7.5 Mt of material from La Tapada deposit. The majority of purchase orders for major equipment had been issued. Regarding the SX-EW process, purchase orders had been placed for key equipment with state-of-the-art technology.
Regarding energy supply, foundation works at the main electrical substation, as well as work to build the 220kV transmission line, were underway. In parallel, large-scale earthworks for the grading of the main dry and wet area components were in their final stage, setting the groundwork for civil construction in key areas for secondary and tertiary crushing (dry area), solvent extraction (SX), and electrowinning (EW) (wet area) amongst others.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, progress at Tia Maria stood at 32.5%, and 4,207 new jobs had been generated; 815 of these positions were filled with local applicants. To the fullest extent possible, Southern Copper intends to fill the 5,000 jobs estimated to be required during Tia Maria’s construction phase prioritising workers from the Islay province. Operations are expected to begin in Q3 2027.