Minem: Digital Single Window will allow mining permits to be approved in less than a year

The Minister of Energy and Mines, Rómulo Mucho, showed his confidence that permits for mining projects will not take more than a year, after the Digital Single Window (VUD) is fully implemented, which today is in the first of its three phases.

“We discussed this at PDAC Canada 2024. How long does a permit take in Canada? Two, three months or four months no more, and in Peru how long does a permit take? Two, three years or more. That has to be gradually reduced, perhaps not overnight, but the will exists,” he expressed in the Mining Dialogues program of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru (IIMP).

Under that premise, he highlighted the progress of the first stage of the VUD and highlighted the joint work that the institutions involved have been carrying out to reactivate the sector. The minister estimated that the second phase of the VUD would be implemented in July.

“Progress is being made. Even at the exploration level, the Informative VUD is already working. In that sense, I can say that there is a predisposition, and the best one, among the ministries of the Environment, Agriculture, Culture, and institutions such as ANA, OEFA, Osinergmin and Senace,” he noted.

In that sense, Mucho stated that there are around 8 institutions that today monitor and control the performance of the mining industry.

“So, if the eight or more institutions coordinate, I think it will greatly facilitate any investment and we are on that path. I can say without fear of being wrong that, according to the Government’s guidelines, there is a predisposition to move forward and reactivate projects, not only mining, but of all kinds and reactivate employment to defeat poverty,” he stated.

Likewise, Mucho considered that a key factor to accelerate permits is having specialized personnel in the entities that evaluate companies’ applications.

“It is also about strengthening institutions. Institutions must have adequate and prepared personnel who know the subject, the personnel who know do it very quickly or suddenly say yes or no and how to correct it,” he noted.

According to Jorge Soto, general director of Mining at Minem, the third stage will be focused on optimizing procedures through the formation of a specialized team of technicians and lawyers.

This group will be in charge of reviewing and improving existing processes, eliminating those that are redundant or unnecessary from a legal point of view.