The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) announced that 2023 will see the development of 74 mining projects across 17 departments in the country for a total investment of US$596 million.
Most of the projects, or 39 of them, focus on copper mining and represent an investment of US$284 million. The red metal is followed by gold, with 18 projects and an investment of $220 million. Zinc occupies the third spot with nine projects accounting for US$47 million in investments, while eight silver and lithium joint projects are expected to deliver US$46 million in investments.
"Exploration is fundamental for the development of the mining industry. It constitutes the first step of Peru's most important economic activity as it allows the discovery of new deposits, as well as the extension of the life of operating mines, all of which generates resources for the benefit of the country," the ministry said in a media statement.
According to the government agency, 30 of the 74 projects have recently become operative or are about to reach that phase as they already have all the required permits. These projects represent an investment of US$134 million or 22.5% of the 2023 portfolio of mining exploration projects.
Meanwhile, 17 projects, accounting for US$136 million or 22.7% of the portfolio, are in the evaluation stage for exploration authorization.
Finally, the communiqu?(C) notes that the remaining 27 projects, which represent US$327 million in investments or 54.8% of the total, are undergoing evaluations of their environmental impact assessments.