Southern Copper Corp.'s Tia Maria project in Peru could produce 90,000 tonnes of copper each year, more than twice the ouput initially planned, a top executive said on Monday.

A feasability study of the adjusted plan will be ready by the end of the third quarter of 2007, Southern Copper Chief Executive Oscar Gonzalez told analysts in a conference call.

Southern Copper previously said Tia Maria would produce 43,000 tonnes of copper per year, and could begin production in 2009.