The Peruvian Government plans to issue the call for tenders for Michiquillay mining project in September or October this year, Economy and Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne estimated on Wednesday.
"
Michiquillay is coming, it is underway. [State-run] Private Investment Promotion Agency [ProInversion] has a schedule, and the idea is to issue it [the call for bids] between September and October," the government official told reporters.
Michiquillay copper deposit is located in the western slopes of the Peruvian Andes in northern Cajamarca region.
Its potential production is estimated at 200,000 tons of copper per year.
The venture is to be re-auctioned following the withdrawal of Milpo company over disagreements regarding conditions.
The finance head also highlighted measures by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's administration to promote
mining investments, which —he assured— are bouncing back in the Andean country.
In this respect, Thorne stressed the need to consolidate said new trend by boosting major investments, as is the case of Michiquillay.
The minister also referred to Peru's positive result in
Fraser Institute's latest Annual Survey of mining companies, which places the Inca nation as Latin America's most attractive jurisdiction for mining investments.
U.S. investors
In addition, Thorne underscored
U.S. investors —with whom he met during inPeru's 12th
North America Road Show— have expressed their interest in the national market thanks to its favorable project development conditions.
"We are starting to see the results of the government's early measures to promote mining investment, and we hope to see more of these investments relatively soon," he concluded.
Remarks were made after participating in the trading session opening of
NASDAQ, the U.S. largest electronic market, as part of inPeru's Road Show closing activities.