It began copper mining operations in 1960.[1] In 1976, it opened the Cuajone mine, with a minority interest owned by Billiton.[4]
In 1995, ASARCO acquired an additional 10% of the company from Newmont for $116.4 million, raising its stake to 63%.[2] Southern Copper became a public company in January 1996 after a reorganization.[1] In 1999, Grupo México acquired ASARCO and became the majority owner of Southern Copper.[5]
In April 2005, the company acquired Grupo Minera in Mexico from Grupo México for $3.75 billion. In October 2005, it changed its name from Southern Peru to Southern Copper Corporation.[6][7] In 2011, a court ruled that the price of Grupo Minera was unfair and Grupo Mexico was forced to return $1.3 billion in shares to Southern Copper.[8] In November 2011, Grupo México cancelled plans to merge Southern Copper with ASARCO after shareholder dissent.[9]
From 2007 to 2010, intermittent strike actions at the Buenavista mine disrupted production; union members even threatened to blow up the mine.[10][11]
