Southern Copper eyes selling direct to Asia
By Jean Luis Arce
LIMA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Southern Copper Corp (SPC.LM) (PCU.N), one of the world's largest copper producers, hopes talks with Asian buyers will lead to new direct sales, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.
"We already sell to Asia, but through traders. We want to do it directly," Southern Copper's President Oscar Gonzalez told Reuters at a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, forum in Lima.
Southern Copper, a unit of Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), operates the Cuajone and Toquepala mines in Peru and the Cananea and La Caridad mines in Mexico.
He said talks with some Chinese companies were set to start early next year and will cover output not yet committed to the Americas and Europe.
"We are looking to guarantee a new market ... for the increase in production that we expect by the end of 2010," said Gonzalez.
Southern was moving ahead with expansion plans at its Tia Maria and Toquepala mines in Peru, despite the global economic slowdown hitting some of its other projects, like El Arco and Angangueo in Mexico and Peru's Los Chancas.
Gonzalez said copper probably will sell next year for around $2 per pound -- above Thursday's price of $1.56 per pound, but below the $4 highs earlier this year.
"One of the reasons we are upping our projects is so additional production can offset low prices, and so our sales can stay more or less stable," he said.
After Chile, Peru is the world's second largest copper. (Writing by Maria Luisa Palomino; Editing by David Gregorio)
