At the close of the conference "Southern Mining Corridor: Challenges for the development of the regions", held within the framework of Heading to PERUMIN, the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP) announced that the next two editions of PERUMIN Mining Convention will be held consecutively.

Therefore, the PERUMIN 35 Mining Convention is scheduled for 2022; while PERUMIN 36 Mining Convention has already been confirmed for 2023. Furthermore, these two editions will have Arequipa as their main venue.

Cooperation between all

The closing ceremony of this first decentralized event was attended by the head of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Jaime Gálvez Delgado, who highlighted the importance of Heading to PERUMIN for Peruvian mining.

Minem: "Rumbo a PERUMIN is an ideal space to reflect on the present and future of Peruvian mining"

Similarly, he emphasized that the best way to achieve the benefits of mining – which should reach all territories where the industry is carried out– will be through cooperation.

“The best way is cooperation between regional, local and national governments; and also with mining companies and non-governmental organizations interested in development. I believe that in this way we will be able to improve the performance of the State as well as that of mining social responsibility”, he declared.

Event summary

The president of the IIMP, Víctor Gobitz, presented some of the main ideas that were unveiled in the three days of conferences.

“The Minister of Production, José Luis Chicoma, pointed out that mining plays a key role in our economy, not only because of its great contribution to GDP and exports - which in 2020 reached 9.9% and 60.8% of our export basket, respectively - but also because of its enormous capacity to generate various linkages around it”, he said.

He added that the Minister of the Environment, Gabriel Quijandría, said that it is a task of the Peruvian State to improve the efficiency of public investment in areas of mining activity, in order to resolve social conflicts and aim towards more sustainable mining.

“Both agreed that one of the objectives we have as an industry is to be increasingly sustainable, inclusive and innovative. At this point it is important to highlight that Peru, through its mining, can be one of the main protagonists of this joint effort to benefit the health of our planet, and in turn contribute to the generation of greater well-being for all Peruvians”, he said.

Another issue mentioned was the use of the canon and royalties, which he described as one of the pending issues to be resolved in the country, to improve the distribution and execution of these resources, taking into account a territorial approach.

In this sense, the president of the IIMP considered it important to recall what was pointed out by former minister Milton Von Hesse, in relation to the fact that local governments have stopped spending between S/ 2.4 billion and S/ 5 billion per year.

Therefore, he emphasized that the canon resources at a decentralized level not only have low efficiency and effectiveness in their execution, but are characterized by not responding to a territorial view of development; in addition, the short term is often privileged and not the long term.

"We have had three very enriching days where the preponderant role that our mining will play in the economic recovery of the country has been demonstrated, and where, in addition, the performance of our projects and operations in the southern region, as well as at the national level, will be strategic" , said the president of the IIMP.

Apurímac, the next venue

During his participation in the closing ceremony, the regional governor of Apurímac, Baltazar Lantarón Núñez, considered it necessary to modify the budget law so that regional and local authorities can execute the resources assigned by the canon and mining royalties.

“The mining entrepreneurs are making an effort to facilitate the transfer; but the issue is in the bureaucracy that we have in the Ministry of Economy and Finance ”, said Baltazar Lantarón.

He also indicated that for the Assembly of Regional Governments - where he holds the position of vice president - it is important to put mining on the country's political agenda.

"We must strengthen the mining activity that largely supports the national budget. I am pro-mining and I consider that the investment of the canon and royalties cannot go in sports equipment, but rather in elementary things that benefit the quality of life of the citizen", he said.

In this line, the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP) and the Organizing Committee for Heading to PERUMIN announced that Apurímac will host the next decentralized event, which will be held on Wednesday, July 7.

It was also commented that participants and attendees of the conference will be able to analyze the new projects and challenges in the region. They will also have the opportunity to learn about the impact of mining in this region of in the Southern mining corridor, thanks to a study carried out by the Center for Competitiveness and Development (CCD) and the IIMP.