The president of PERUMIN 37—the leading mining convention in Latin America and beyond—warned that excessive red tape and the proliferation of illegal operations could hinder the launch of new mining projects.

The great potential of Peru’s current mining project portfolio—valued at over US$63 billion—could be threatened by excessive red tape and the illegal occupation of land by individuals protected by the Reinfo system, warned Jimena Sologuren, president of PERUMIN 37.

According to Sologuren, these two factors are weakening the country’s competitiveness in the sector. She made these remarks in her recent opinion column published in El Comercio, where she also pointed out the bottlenecks the industry faces as Peru competes with other global destinations for investment.

“When a procedure takes more than a decade, something is clearly wrong—especially in a country where mining is key to development,” she said. Sologuren explained that moving a mining project forward requires navigating a series of authorizations from more than 30 government entities, including ministries, regulatory bodies, and regional governments.

“The problem is not just the number of procedures, but also the complexity of the system, which includes limited coordination, overlapping responsibilities, and lack of technical capacity. These issues lead to cost overruns, delays, and lost opportunities,” said the president of PERUMIN.

Sologuren, who is also a director at the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP), welcomed the government’s announcement of a new Digital Single Window for the mining sector—set to launch in July—as a key tool to streamline processes and enhance transparency. She also praised the Executive Branch's promotion of more than 400 deregulation measures as an opportunity to foster a more favorable environment for responsible investment. “Overcoming the bureaucratic maze requires joint efforts from the State, businesses, and civil society,” she noted.

Informality Threatens to Expand

Jimena Sologuren also expressed concern over the expansion of informal mining in areas already allocated to permitted projects. “A significant part of the investment portfolio is being occupied by individuals registered in Reinfo, without regard for the rule of law,” warned the president of the country’s most important mining convention.

Originally created to regulate small-scale mining and guide it toward legality, the Comprehensive Registry for the Formalization of Mining (Reinfo) has become, according to Sologuren, an open door for the occupation of areas designated for formal operations, violating the required technical, social, and environmental standards.