Resource World Magazine

6 www.resourceworld.com J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 8 T he government of new Peruvian President, Martin Vizcarra, made headlines recently by saying it would not "impose" mining projects on nearby communities that object to them, but would seek to promote mining investments to take advantage of improved mineral prices. The comments may have reminded some that in the past decade, Southern Copper Corp. [SCCO-NYSE] and Newmont Mining Corp. [NEM-NYSE] have shelved proposed mines in Peru amid opposi - tion from communities worried about the environmental impact – one of the biggest hurdles to building mines in the world's No. 2 copper producer. But industry officials who have worked in Peru say they don't believe that the new government is any less supportive of mining than its predecessors or that per - mitting will become any more difficult in the near future. Officials point out that over the last six years in the southern part of the country, four new open pit copper mines costing $15 billion have been completed. They include China Minmetals Corp.'s Las Bambas Mine, HudBay Minerals Inc.'s [HBM-TSX, NYSE] Constancia Mine, Glencore AG's [GLEN-LSE] Antapaccay Mine, and Freeport-McMoran's [FCX- NYSE] Cerro Verde. "It is showing that in this part of the world, new copper projects can get per - mitted and can get built," said Luquman Shaheen, President and CEO of Panoro Minerals Ltd. [PML-TSXV, Lima, PZM- FSE], a Vancouver-based company with two advanced stage copper projects in Peru. The development of those projects and the expansion of Chinalco's Toromocho Mine and others have enabled Peru to double its production. Through this phase of rapid development of the copper sec - tor, especially in this area of southern Peru, infrastructure has been built quite quickly, resulting in the development of access roads, port expansions, and railroad privatizations, and plenty of cheap power. Shaheen said he is confident that his company will get the permits to acquire the land that his company needs to relo - cate about 95 families, who he said will be moved to facilitate the development of Panoro's flagship Cotabambas copper mine. The families are being moved to the nearby city of Cusco, which is about 100 km from the project site. Bear Creek Mining Corp. [BCM-TSXV], a Vancouver-based company with a long track record in Peru, is another Canadian company that is hoping to develop new mines in Peru. In an interview, the com - Peru doubles copper production – now No. 2 in the world by Peter Kennedy Mineral explorers like the Peruvian government's constructive approach to advancing its mining industry. PERU

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