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                                                                  EXHIBIT 99.2

Southern Peru sees 2003 copper output 800 mln lbs
By Mary Powers

    AREQUIPA, Peru, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Southern Peru Copper Corp. [PCU.N]
[SPC.LM] expects to produce 800 million lbs of copper this year, up slightly
from 2002, while sales should "grow a little" to $700 million, its top executive
said Wednesday.
    "Production is going to be close to 800 million lbs which is slightly higher
than what we projected at the start of the year, due to better production and
mineral grades at both of our mines," Southern Peru president Oscar Gonzalez
told reporters at a mining conference in this southern city.
    "Our sales...are going to grow a little to close to $700 million on better
prices of copper, molybdenum and silver," he added, declining to give a
projection for net income.
    Southern's 2002 mined copper production was up 1 percent at 763.9
million lbs compared with 2001. Sales totaled $664.7 million.
    Gonzalez also said that, pending some documentation, the government had
approved a proposed modification of its environmental improvement program
(PAMA), meaning Southern would complete the upgrade of its decades-old smelter
in the port of Ilo in January 2007.


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    In July, Southern Peru said it had chosen Fluor-Xstrata to provide the
technology and engineering for the smelter. Gonzalez said the upgrade would cost
$306 million, although the company still does not have the schedule of
investment.
    He said that Southern, one of the world's 10 top copper producers, should be
able to finance the project with its own resources.
    "We have some money in the bank, around $250 million, for our project and
the board has authorized $750 million in bonds, of which we have used $200
million, so we have another $550 million to issue in the best market
conditions," Gonzalez said.
    Gonzalez said Southern had saved some $300 million in its original projected
investment for the smelter due to the competition among six
bidders for the project and because it had scaled back the smelter's planned
treatment capacity to 1.2 million tonnes versus the original plan of 1.8 million
tonnes.
     That decision was made because of the "difficult market conditions" for
concentrates. With the new planned capacity, Southern will use only its own
concentrates.
    He said, however, that if market conditions improve, Southern has the
facilities to expand production, although it would not be done until the first
phase is complete.
    Aside from capture of at least 92 percent of gases from the smelter, the
modernization of the facility will allow the company to cut its cash costs by at
least two cents per lb of copper, Gonzalez said.
    Gonzalez said that Southern's cash costs are currently around 40-41 cents
per lb. He said that since Grupo Mexico had acquired Southern from Asarco [AR.N]
in 1999, the firm had reduced its cash costs by about 10 cents a lb.

     Grupo Mexico owns 54.2 percent of Southern, Southern Cerro Trading Company
has 14.2 percent, Phelps Dodge [PD.N] owns 14.0 percent and the rest is held by
other shareholders. ((Reporting by Mary Powers, editing by John Picinich;
Reuters Messaging: mary.powers.reuters.com@reuters.net;
email: lima.newsroom@reuters.com; +511-221-2134))