Southern Copper CEO Expects Copper to Top US$4 in 2010

Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, CEO of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:PCU), the largest copper producer in Peru and Mexico, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, S.A. (BMV:GMEXICOB) told reporters that he expects copper prices to rise to above US$4 per pound, almost double the average 2009 price of $2.22.

Grupo Mexico "Confident" It Will Regain Control of U.S. Mining Company Asarco

Robert Moore, a lawyer for Grupo Mexico, the world's third largest copper producer, told press sources that the company is "confident" that it will regain its former U.S. subsidiary Asarco, when the result of that company's bankruptcy process is announced on December 1, 2009.

IMF Announces View that Asian Demand Will Boost Economic Growth in Latin America

At a press conference in Santiago, Chile, Nicolás Eyzaguirre, the Director for the Western Hemisphere at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told reporters that Asian demand for natural resources would boost exports and spur growth in Latin American countries like Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina.

Peruvian Mining Union Declares Strike

Peru's National Federation of Miners, Metalworkers and Steelworkers (FNTMMSP) declared a formal strike to protest the government's failure to address the fact that more than 80% of the country's mining and metal sector workers are sub-contracted.