Peruvian copper miner Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde said on Friday in a securities filing that it had paid “under protest” a tax debt of 1 billion soles ($245.52 million), as the amount continues to be the subject of an arbitration dispute.
Peru’s tax authority has longstanding disputes with several miners regarding tax calculations.
Cerro Verde is the second large Peruvian miner to pay a tax debt that remains under dispute in recent weeks.
Last month, Compania de Minas Buenaventura paid a debt worth 2.1 billion soles ($515.59 million).
Still, Bueaventura’s chairman, Roque Benavides, said in an interview with Bloomberg Linea that they were hoping to recover those funds once the tax dispute was finalized, which they said they would win.
Cerro Verde is controlled by Freeport-McMoRan Corp , while Buenaventura holds a minority stake.
