The two young individuals competed in the national and international categories, respectively.

The PERUMIN Hub Innovation Program and its 'Young People Who Bring Abou Transformation' initiative reached its final stage and held the award ceremony for winners as part of the first PERUMIN Jóvenes meeting, held on October 29 and 30.

At this event, the finalists presented their innovative proposals to  address key challenges in the mining sector. They were evaluated by a panel of judges, including Julia Torreblanca, vice president of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde; Enrique Ramírez, vice president and COO of Southern Peaks Mining; Filipe Fonseca Silva from the management of Nexa Resources; Nicolas Maennling, senior advisor of MinSus at GIZ – German Cooperation; and Torge Bartscht, advisor from GIZ for the EITI Secretariat in Germany. One national and one international winner were selected.

The national award went to Yamir Angelo Velazco Arenas from Arequipa, who presented the project 'Livanguard,' which involves the use of microalgae for carbon capture to create a protein-rich food source.

In the international category, the recognition went to Santiago Correa Restrepo from Medellín, Colombia, for his idea 'Yeiker: Electrosensitair,' which involves an electrochemical sensor for the remote detection of hazardous gases.

Both winners will receive a cash prize to help them develop their minimum viable product, as well as advice and technical support.

More about “Young People Who Bring About Transformation”

The 'Young People Who Bring About Transformation' initiative started in 2023 with a national tour and received a total of 70 applications across its two categories. From these, 27 young talents were selected from 12 regions of Peru and 5 countries in the Andean region (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru).

The 27 finalists participated in an immersive innovation program over six months this year, including mentorship from 26 industry professionals. They also had the opportunity to visit the facilities of Anglo American - Quellaveco, the country’s first 100% digital mine, located in Moquegua.

It is worth noting that PERUMIN Hub is chaired by Rafael Estrada and promoted by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP) and the Peruvian Mining Innovation Hub. Its objective is to foster the development of innovative solutions to address the main challenges of the mining industry, facilitate the consolidation of innovations through collaboration, recognize successful innovations, and support their commercial launch.