Peruvian government creates special group to support exploration projects

Peruvian Minister of Economy and Finance, Mar?-a Antonieta Alva. (Image courtesy of Peru's Ministry of Economy and Finance, Flickr).

Peru's Minister of Economy and Finance, Mar?-a Antonieta Alva, said that her office has created a 'special follow-up team,' whose members will be in charge of supporting mining projects.

According to state-owned news agency Andina, the minister said the new group will pay special attention to exploration projects so that they can move into construction in a timely manner.

Peru's mining sector is responsible for 12% of the country's GDP, 15% of private investments and almost 60% of exports

At present, there are 48 mining projects underway in Peru, with investments adding up to $58 billion.

The Finance portfolio has estimated that for every job that is created during a mine's construction phase, eight additional jobs are created in other sectors such as services, while for every million dollars miners invest during construction, the national economy receives $1.8 million.

"Government is committed to creating the technical and regulatory conditions to effectively take advantage of the current situation in terms of reserves and low costs," Alva said.

The minister added that additional work needs to be done so that the social policies that will allow projects to develop in the next few years are in place.