The Antamina Copper-Zinc Project: Political Risk Insurance

Compania Minera Antamina S.A. is a consortium of three large multinational Canadian mining companies set up to exploit a very large copper-zinc deposit north central Peru. The project requires about US$2 billion of financing for the development and exploitation of the deposit. The finance committee needs to determine the best means to raise the necessary funds: loans guaranteed by the sponsors or project finance. The costs and benefits are different across alternatives because the project involves both business and political risks to which the exposure for all of the stakeholders is different.