LIMA, May 3 (Reuters) - Peru's dented mining mojo, hit by years of political turmoil in the Andean country, is being buoyed by strong copper prices and a bullish outlook they will rise further, helping lure back investor interest, the country's mining minister said on Friday.
"The price of copper is a great attraction," Romulo Mucho, told Reuters in an interview at his office, a reference to prices that hit two-year peaks of $10,208 a metric ton this week, close to the record high of $10,845 in March 2022.
Goldman Sachs earlier in the day hiked its year-end price target to $12,000 per ton, from $10,000 previously, citing the copper market's path into scarcity and expectations of a larger deficit of the key metal needed for electrification.
Mucho said that the trend was helping salve mining companies' caution in the country, the world's no. 2 exporter that has struggled to fend off a challenge from rival producer Congo as incoming mining investment has dwindled.
The minister added he had met with executives from Newmont , Teck Resources, Hudbay Minerals, Antofagasta Minerals and others in recent months, who had shown interest in new ventures and operational mines.
"Most of the CEOs I talked to asked what projects there are and how they can get involved," Mucho said, blaming political uncertainty under former governments for hurting the sector. Peru has had half a dozen presidents in the last six years.
"Confidence is being recovered."
Peru expects to produce some 3 million tons of copper this year, up from 2.75 million last year, a goal Mucho stuck by, though he added production from protest-hit Las Bambas, owned by China's MMG Ltd, was key to hitting the target. (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Marguerita Choy)
