Peru mining sector faces bureaucratic hurdles and legislative calls for reform

Mining officials and oversight bodies in Peru are highlighting significant bureaucratic hurdles affecting both large-scale and artisanal mining sectors. In Cusco, Merciano Basilio, the regional manager of Energy and Mines, has called for an urgent update to the General Mining Law. He noted that investors currently face up to 240 authorizations from 30 different public institutions, a process that can take a minimum of 10 years. A proposal for administrative simplification and legal reengineering was presented during a mining summit in Cusco to attract investment, with regional projects like Coroccohuayco, Quechua, and Aurora expected to reach approximately $8 billion in investment this year.

Simultaneously, the Comptroller General of the Republic has issued an alert regarding delays in the formalization of small-scale and artisanal miners in Madre de Dios. The regional energy and mines directorate has failed to transfer over 2,000 environmental management files to the Ministry of Energy and Mines within the legally mandated timeframe. This delay, which exceeded the established deadline by over a year, threatens to stall the approval of environmental management instruments and hinder efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of mining activities in the region.