Peru unveils new US$1bn portfolio of mining exploration projects

Peru's mining ministry (Minem) has a new portfolio of 84 exploration projects totaling over US$1.04bn.

According to a new report, the ministry removed 24 projects involving US$285mn but added 33 initiatives involving US$592mn. The figure is close to the 2024 portfolio of US$644mn, and there are expectations of exploration projects to extend the life of operating mines.

A couple of projects submitted investment adjustments, and others submitted new environmental management instruments (EMIs) to the ministry. These involved capex updates for six projects, increasing from US$64.9mn to US$152mn.

The full report can be downloaded from the Documents box in the top-right corner of the screen.

BNamericas reviews the pipeline of new initiatives for 2025.

Early stage  

Of the 33 new projects, 24 are under evaluation to obtain the EMI, one of the first permits required to begin exploration.

Projects of Peruvian companies Minsur and Buenaventura stand out. In the case of Minsur, the company has two exploration projects involving the largest capex of the entire portfolio: Mina Justa (US$286mn) and Quenamari (US$105mn). According to Minsur, the first one refers to the eighth modification of the Ica region copper mine's environmental impact study (MEIAd), currently underway, and involves deepening two mining exploration ramps. 

In the case of Quenamari, a brownfield tin project in southern region Puno, the company is seeking EMI approval for the second MEIAd submitted last July.

Buenaventura, meanwhile, submitted an EMI for the fourth MEIAd of the San Gabriel gold project, which is currently under construction. According to Minem, the company presented a US$39mn plan that includes modifications to the exploration schedule at the deposit located in Moquegua region.

Other projects awaiting EMI approval are:

Project	Controlling company	Capex (US$mn)
Haquira	First Quantum Minerals	22.5
Antilla	Calisto Cobre Resources	21
Cotabambas	Panoro Minerals	21
Ayawilca	Tinka Resources Limited	10
El Galeno	CMC & Jiangxi Copper	10
Isibilla	American Lithium Corp.	10
Cañariaco	Alta Copper Corp.	5.9

Source: Minem. Prepared by BNamericas

Of the 33 new projects, six have their EMIs already approved and are in the second stage of preliminary consultation. Investment totals US$10.7mn, with the Yananta (US$2.3mn) project of Australia's Fortescue Metals and Anka (US$2mn) of Canada's Hudbay Minerals standing out.  

Green light  

Finally, three new projects gained the majority of their approvals in 2024 and could begin drilling. The most significant project is Hudbay Minerals' US$13.3mn Caballito, a brownfield copper project within the company's mining concessions in Cusco region. Work is due to last 24 months at three concessions. The final permit for "Authorization to start activities" is pending.

There are also the greenfield gold projects La Colorada (US$3.5mn) and La Estrella (US$1.7mn), owned by Minsur and Cappex Mineral Ventures, respectively. The former involves drilling for 24 months at the project in La Libertad region, while the latter encompasses work lasting 14 months in Huancavelica region.