Peruvian government unveils platform to expedite exploration permits

Staff Writer | February 4, 2024 | 5:45 am News South America Copper Gold Iron Ore Zinc and Lead 
Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines Oscar Vera Gargurevich
Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines, Oscar Vera Gargurevich. (Image by Minem, X.)

Officials from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) met with representatives from the largest mining companies operating in the country to offer details on the implementation of the Digital Information Single Window platform, which is the result of a collaboration between nine government departments and is expected to expedite the issuance of exploration permits.

Executives from China’s MMG Minera Las Bambas, which accounts for 2% of the global copper output, were there, together with representatives from Compañía de Minas Buenaventura, whose biggest shareholder is Antofagasta Plc.; Teck Resources’ (NYSE: TECK) Compañía Minera Zafranal; Nexa Resources’ (NYSE: NEXA) Nexa Resources Perú; Aluminum Corp of China’s Minera Chinalco; Gold Field La Cima, and China’s Shougang Hierro Perú, among others.

The miners applauded the Peruvian government’s effort to streamline certain processes and pointed out the importance of achieving greater coordination among all regulatory entities, particularly the National Water Authority (ANA) and the National Environmental Certification Service for Sustainable Investments (SENACE).

According to the Minem, the next steps in the development of the Single Window are focused on reducing the amount of paperwork miners need to submit when moving into the exploitation and production stages. 

“This initiative seeks to facilitate investors’ work in the development of mining activities in a responsible manner, with greater efficiency, and streamlining administrative processes to avoid duplication,” the Vice Minister of Mines, Henry Luna Córdova, said at the meeting.

The government officials also took the opportunity to highlight that Peru broke a copper production record in 2023, having produced over 2.75 million fine metric tonnes of the red metal, a 12.7% increase from the production registered in 2022. 

According to the US Geological Survey’s 2024 Mineral Commodity Summaries, the Andean country kept its position as the No. 2 copper producer in the world. 

The Minem also released the figures for other metals, noting that gold production reached 99 million fine grams in 2023, which is 2.8% more than what was produced in 2022 and which is mainly the result of the good performance of Newmont’s (NYSE: NEM) Minera Yanacocha.

Zinc, on the other hand, reached over 1.4 million fine metric tons, which is a 7.2% increase from 2022, with Compañía Minera Antamina and Volcan Compañía Minera taking the lead. 

Finally, the ministry mentioned that iron ore production reached over 14 million fine metric tons, which represents an 8.8% increase from the previous year. 

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