NEW YORK — Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Peru’s mining company Minsur S.A. and the rating on its senior unsecured notes due 2024 to Ba2 from Ba3, the credit rating firm said in a public statement October 15, while the outlook was changed to “stable” from “positive.”

“Minsur’s upgrade to Ba2 reflects the completion of a large expansion project in Mina Justa, which will strengthen Minsur’s business profile over the long term and provide a significant uplift in cash generation from 2021 onward,” Moody’s said.

The upgrade considers the positive long term fundamentals for tin and copper prices, which together will account for 90% of the company’s cash flows by 2022. The Mina Justa will strengthen cash generation and lead to positive free cash flow at ~USD350 million supporting liquidity and an improvement in credit metrics with Moody’s adjusted debt-to-EBITDA below 2 times from the 4.8 times in December 2020, according to the statement.

Minsur’s Ba2 ratings remain supported by the company’s “competitive cost position in tin and copper which supports high margins, along with its position as the third-largest tin producer worldwide.”

Moody’s said that the company’s credit quality is additionally supported by low costs and high-grade ore, largely because of its ownership of the San Rafael mine, the world’s largest tin-producing underground mine; and the diversification into copper which will represent half of Minsur’s cash flows from 2022 onward.