Peru's Minister of Energy and Mines, Francisco ??smodes, said this week that his office expects mining investments to reach $58 billion in coming years.
In an interview with the state-run newspaper El Peruano, ??smodes said that the goal for the next three years is to get at least 36% of that capital actually invested.
The minister also said that the Mart?-n Vizcarra administration expects Peru's share in the global mining exploration realm to grow to 8% from the current 7% by 2021.
According to the government official, the recently-created Directorate for Mining Promotion and Sustainability will be in charge of identifying the regions with the highest potential for resource exploration. The unit is also responsible for connecting the ministry to provincial governments and consult with communities about future projects and their impacts.
In that sense, ??smodes mentioned the positive work already carried out by AngloAmerican (LON:AAL) at its Quellaveco copper mine in the Moquegua region, as well as by Minsur at its giant copper mine Mina Justa in Ica. He said he was also pleased with the signing of an agreement with Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO) for the construction of the Michiquillay project in the Cajamarca region.
The minister also announced the launching of the Centre for Convergence and Good Practices, which will be in charge of mediating between different stakeholders in order to make sure that all extractive activities are conducted following high environmental protection standards and making use of the most advanced technology available.