He Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) reported that it maintains a portfolio of mining projects for more than US$18,427 million in Cajamarca, including Conga, paralyzed since 2011.
During his presentation at the decentralized session of the Energy and Mines Commission of Congress, held in Cajamarca, the minister of the sector Oscar Vera maintained that the country’s total portfolio amounts to US$53,130 million distributed in 46 investment projects, 6 of them in This region.
These projects are La Granja (US$5,000 million), Conga (US$4,800 million), Repuesto Tantahuatay (US$127 million), Michiquillay (US$2,500 million), Galeno (US$3,500 million) and Yanacocha Sulfuros (US$2,500 million).
In turn, Walter Sánchez, general director of the General Directorate of Mining Promotion and Sustainability, maintained that, until September 2023, Cajamarca’s participation in employment generated by the mining sector amounted to only 15,949 workers, 7.1% of the total. national.
In addition, he revealed that in terms of mining transfers for royalties, royalties and validity and penalty rights, Cajamarca has only obtained S/203 million as of the ninth month of the year, far below other regions such as Junín, Puno, La Libertad, Arequipa and Ancash. It occupies eleventh place.
However, Cajamarca remains the third Peruvian producer of gold, the eleventh of copper and the fourteenth of silver, a situation that could improve if projects such as Conga are resumed, Sánchez said.
“Conga is there, the resource is there, Peru’s mining potential is below its deposits. We are interested in the other component, the investment climate, the mentality of the people. The regulations that continue to attract investment. The deposits are They are not going to go there, we continue to accompany the company in seeing how to improve the investment climate of this project,” said the official.
For his part, the Vice Minister of Mines, Jaime Chávez-Riva clarified that the Newmont company postponed its Yanacocha Sulfuros gold and copper project, also in Cajamarca, because it was left without spending margin after the purchase of the Australian Newcrest, for US$17,740 million.
“The owner of Yanacocha, the largest gold company in the world, has just bought the second one and has no money at all. Let’s hope she gets the resources and gives away this US$2.5 billion investment that would help us surpass Chile in the statistics [de producción de cobre]”remarked Chávez-Riva.
Source: Larepublica
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