Peru’s new energy and mines minister faces mining formalization challenge

Peru's new energy and mines minister, Jorge Montero Cornejo, is expected to advance with the formalization of small mining operations without leaving large miners in the dust.

Montero succeeds Rómulo Mucho, who was removed in a controversial move by congress last week over his allegedly deficient handling of the law to formalize artisanal and small miners (MAPE) and an extension of the comprehensive mining formalization registry (Reinfo).

“The challenge is to get the government to support [Montero] in improving the MAPE law, promoting it and supervising the latest expansion of the comprehensive mining formalization registry,” former energy and mines minister Miguel Incháustegui told BNamericas.

"It's important that he succeeds in promoting dialogue in congress regarding the MAPE law because implementing it is going to be a great challenge," added Incháustegui, who is now director of corporate social affairs at Pan American Silver Perú.

Montero was deputy minister of mines from November 2020 to August 2021, a turbulent period marked by the pandemic and the transitional nature of former president Francisco Sagasti's administration.

In the private sector, Montero served as deputy community relations manager at Hochschild Mining's Compañía Minera Ares, director of inclusive sustainable business at Unacem's Celepsa and manager of community relations and social development at Cerro Corona, owned by Gold Fields.

On November 21, Montero told Radio Exitosa that the MAPE law offers adequate incentives to miners to move out of the illicit mining sector, but its implementation is complex due to the personnel required, lack of technical capacity and countless authorities that must interact with each other.

“Reinfo cannot be repealed until the MAPE law is duly discussed, approved, regulated and all the agents involved have the operational and regulatory capacities to implement it. Mining is a transversal activity, and there are almost 30 non-mining institutions involved with the required permits and authorizations,” he said.

The registry was planned to expire later this month, but was extended until mid-2025 on November 29. Initially created to help small miners, it has been subverted by criminal actors and critics claim it is now used to shield illegal operations under the premise that the formalization process is ongoing. 

Montero claimed that repealing Reinfo would push 500,000 informal miners into complete illegality and could have unleashed even more violent protests than those seen in recent weeks.

“Going beyond a good law and regulation that reflects the reality of Peru, we need the three strata of mining to talk to each other. The problem of small-scale mining won't be resolved behind the backs of medium and large-scale mining,” he added.