[1] 88.9 percent of Southern Copper is owned by Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo México (per proxy statement dated March 27, 2018) .

The company is a major producer and refiner of copper, molybdenum, zinc, silver, lead, and gold, and operates mines and smelters in Mexico and in Peru, in the Andes mountains southeast of Lima.

During 2013, 60.7 million dollars in environmental capital expenditures were spent on the following programs: water recovery systems to conserve water and minimize impact on nearby streams; vegetation programs to stabilize the surface of the tailings dumps; implementation of scrubbing technology in the mines to reduce dust emissions.

CEO M. Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, appeared in Mexico for the SIPS 2014/Shechtman International Symposium to accept this award on the company's behalf.

[3] The social protest against the project started in March 2015, causing tens of injuries and up to the beginning of May 2015, two deaths[4] have also led to massive strikes and road blocks in the region.