Peruvian mining executive talks about the industry's despair

Over the weekend, Peruvian business journal El Comercio interviewed Miguel Cardozo, president of Peruvian mining company Alturas Minerals.  Cardozo explained that the global mining industry has been experiencing an investment crisis over the last few years, with global investment in exploration plummeting by 50% between 2012 and 2014, and expected to fall by another 10% in 2015. Peru’s experience has been similar, and Cardozo warns that the lower prediction for this year just means that the industry is finally bottoming out.

In other mining-related news, Alonso Segura, the Peruvian minister of Economy and Finance testified before the Peruvian Congress, asking for the quick approval for the package of stimulus measures that the ministry had proposed to stimulate the country’s mining industry. He said, “We need a congress that supports the Executive on economic issues.”

Gestión reported that Minister Segura added that indicators from the first few months of 2015 show that the country’s economic recovery is on track. He explained, “This is a year of accelerated growth, and I won’t give numbers, but the early leading indicators of activity in March and April show that the recovery is going well.” Nonetheless, the Minister noted that, internationally, the mining industry is in a complicated situation, which has not helped the country’s extractive sector.

El Comercio published an infographic summarizing the state of social conflicts in Peru right now. According to the interactive feature article, there are more than 150 active conflicts in Peru, the vast majority of which are socio-environmental. The article explained that, according to the national ombudsman, the case of the Tía María protests perfectly summarizes the country’s problems over the last 10 years:  a social crisis cased by a lack of foresight and communication by the Peruvian State.

On the subject of Tía María, at least 15 police officers and 2 civilians were injured on Sunday during new clashes between protestors and the armed forces. The Peruvian police are trying to restore order in the area, but they are being rejected by the local population.