Peru's Energy and Mines Minister Gonzalo Tamayo on Monday anticipated the consolidation of three major copper mining ventures in Moquegua, Ica and Cajamarca regions.
"We expect concrete announcements from Quellaveco, Justa [Marcobre] and Michiquillay [mining ventures] over the next 12 to 18 months," he projected.
If realized, said initiatives would hint at a recovery in the mining sector.
"Prices of the main minerals we have are expected to improve next year, thus favoring greater mining exploration and possibly the recovery of mining investment in 2018," the mining head estimated.
While mining investment prospects remain rather low for 2017, Tamayo assured the Ministry is working on getting figures back on the upward trend next year.
In this sense, the official noted Peru currently accounts for 6% of the global exploration budget, leading Latin America.
"Peru has been listed as [Latin America's] most attractive [mining] country by Canada-based Fraser Institute," he recalled.
"We want to stay in that position, so we are upgrading proceedings and simplifying steps. And we recently released the mining exploration regulation [supreme decree] bill."
Quellaveco
According to the Energy and Mines Ministry, investments linked to the project in southern Moquegua region stand at US$5 billion.
Quellaveco's annual production forecast is 225,000 fine metric tons (FMT) of copper, and operations are expected to begin in January 2019.
Mina Justa
On the other hand, investments related to Mina Justa project (Marcobre) in Ica region stand at US$1.272 billion. Annual production forecast for the site is 110,000 FMT of copper. Start of operations is slated for 2020.
Michiquillay
Lastly, investments for Michiquillay venture in Cajamarca region are valued at US$1 billion. Annual production forecast for the site is 187,000 FMT of copper. Start of operations is slated for 2021.
The government expects to auction off the project this year.
(END) DHT/MVB