(Updates with additional detail on source of production, quotes from minister, context)
By Marco Aquino
LIMA, March 9 (Reuters) - Peru's copper output could hit a record 2.5 million tonnes in 2021, well over the 2.15 million tonnes produced last year, Energy and Mines Minister Jaime Gálvez said on Tuesday.
Gálvez said recent mine expansions would help the world's No. 2 copper producer boost output, as well as the opening in April or May of the $1.6 billion Minas Justa project, owned by Minsur MINSURI1.LM .
"This will compensate for the problems that still exist in the copper industry as a result of this second wave of the coronavirus," Gálvez said in a press conference call.
Local copper production plummeted last year due to strict restrictions placed on mines when the coronavirus pandemic first struck the South American nation. Output has since gradually recovered.
Peru's top copper producers last year were Southern (NYSE:SO) Peru Copper SPCCPI1.LM and Antamina - controlled by BHP BHP.AX and Glencore GLEN.L , according to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mines. said that Peru could produce up to 3 million tonnes in 2023, provided new projects continue to come online as expected. He noted that forecast would "depend a lot on the political stability of the country...after the electoral process."
Peru is slated to hold presidential elections on April 11 after a tumultuous year of political and coronavirus-related crisis that has badly dented the country's economy.
The country's projections for increased production, however, coincide with a soaring copper price CMCU3 in 2021, as a nascent global economic recovery has prompted demand to boom for the commodity, used in construction and manufacturing. outlook for copper prices remained strong thanks to strong demand from China and the United States' $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, according to market analysts. Peru's Southern Copper: global price rally spurring new projects
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