Consultant on environmental and economic affairs related to mining, Marita Chappuis, said that the delays in the mining environmental liability closure and remediation projects are due to disperse institutionality, outdated legislation, and the excessive bureaucracy that prevails in the country.

At Rumbo a PERUMIN – Consensuses for the progress of central Peru, she explained that, under the current system to manage environmental liabilities, the General Directorate of Mining is responsible for identifying, classifying, and appointing those who will be in charge of these liabilities; while the subnational governments, AMSAC and volunteer organizations are in charge of other tasks, like remediation, reuse, repurposing, and the alternative use of liabilities.

“A key recommendation would be that it is necessary to analyze in depth the option of creating a single entity to handle the entire process of managing mining environmental liabilities, from their identification to their post-closure, except for the monitoring and oversight tasks,” pointed out the specialist.

Obsolete regulatory framework

She also noted that the efforts to reuse the mineral content found in environmental liabilities has not had the expected results, and that AMSAC is overseen by OEFA and ANA as though AMSAC were generating the liabilities it is in charge of remediating.

“It is obvious that the current legislation and regulations have to be updated in order to clearly define, among others, the ownership rights concerning the areas to be remediated, as well as to limit the responsibilities of the remediators in charge and the volunteers,” proposed Marita Chappuis.

Financing problems

Additionally, she talked about the problems caused by the limited access to Public Treasury resources and the excessive bureaucracy, which make it difficult to meet the deadlines set for the activities of remediation and closure of mining environmental liabilities.

“We must look for creative and permanent solutions to finance remediation works to be carried out by the State, bearing in mind a multiannual schedule,” claimed the also former general director of mining of MINEM.

The urge for a promotion system

Finally, she suggested creating a system to promote reuse and remediation. This system will require an initial investment in research to define the mineral content and conduct the metallurgic treatment analysis, as well as clear commitments for further investments.

“It is necessary to propose measures to attract private capital for remediation, such as environmental compensations, tax credits and the application of Public Works for Taxes,” emphasized Marita Chappuis.