Peru's mining permit system faces uncertain future as protests grow

Peruʼs congress committee approved short-term extension for small-scale miners registry despite government resistance. Miners block roads and camp near legislature demanding longer extension period

November 29 2024 , 10:40 PM  •  3649 views

Peru's mining permit system faces uncertain future as protests grow

Peruʼs mining sector faces new-found challenges as the Energy and Mining Committee gave initial ok for six-month extension of REINFO (a system thats been active for about 10 years)

The temporary-permit scheme which ends Dec 31st 2023 lets small-scale miners work while getting official papers; however government thinks its being mis-used for non-legal operations

Last week Romulo Mucho lost his position as Energy-Mines Minister after congress removed him — this happened right in middle of miner protests. The small-scale workers dont like committees short extension plan: they want two years instead

The situation got more complex when artisanal miners started protests:

  • Southern transport routes blocked for over 7 days
  • Hundreds of miners camping near congress building
  • Work stoppages in multiple mining areas

The committee-approved bill needs full congress vote to become real; meanwhile informal gold-miners keep showing their dis-satisfaction with current proposal (which aims to be one-time thing)

The whole registry system — that got many extensions before — makes government worried because they think it helped spread illegal mining activities across countryʼs territory