Peru’s Minister Jorge Montero said that consensus is being reached with mining companies on the possibility of working together on a technical proposal.
The head of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) Jorge Montero Cornejo, said that the Cajamarca region could play a very significant role in setting in motion the great Northern Mining Corridor of Peru, whose estimated production of 1 million fine metric tons of copper per year would mean a gigantic royalty for the region.
“The Northern Mining Corridor of Peru was born in Cajamarca and is Cajamarcacan. From the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), we are promoting dialogue with the main mining companies in Cajamarca to address the possibility of working together on a technical proposal for the authorities and the population,” he said.
Montero Cornejo said that Cajamarca leads the portfolio of mining projects in all of Peru with an estimated investment amount of US$18 billion.
“We are talking about Newmont’s Yanacocha Sulfuros project, Lumina Copper’s El Galeno, a subsidiary of MMG, Southern Peru Copper Corporation’s Michiquillay and Rio Tinto’s La Granja. These four projects could add up to a production of 1 million fine metric tons of copper per year and bring Peru’s total production to 4 million fine metric tons per year,” he said.
Along these lines, the head of Minem said that a solvent, robust and transparent technical proposal is being worked on, to be presented at some point to the elected authorities of Cajamarca and its population, which will show numbers and the advantages for the region to move towards sustainable development.
“Cajamarca has every right to sit down and reflect in a technical, strategic and political manner on the future of its mineral resources. It is a region endowed with mining deposits of great potential and value,” he stressed.
For this reason, he called on the living forces of Cajamarca, the academy, the industry, the defense fronts and the peasant patrols, to dialogue and define the type of mining we want in Cajamarca.
“We have been blessed with a rich geological potential. We must think about how to put this mineral to good use and, above all, in the hands of responsible companies that know how to diligently fulfill their social, environmental and labor obligations,” said Montero.