Peru is expected to lose its mantle as the world’s No. 2 copper-producing nation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 2026-2027, according to consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. “Already the Democratic Republic of the Congo has practically matched Peru’s production,” Ruben Arratia, a director at the firm, told an industry event in Lima on Tuesday. “In the next few years they will share second place.” Peru became the biggest producer after neighboring Chile in 2016 on the back of a surge of new projects. But production and investment has been curtailed in recent years by political and social instability. At the same ... (full story)