Exploration requests drop 18.9% in Nov.

The number of applications for mineral exploration concessions in Peru dropped 18.9% to 257 in November but was up 7.02% to 5,015 in the first 11 months of 2004 year-on-year, the country's national concessions and mining registry institute Inacc reported. The main focus of interest in November was Arequipa department of in southern Peru with 37 requests, followed by Ancash in the country's center-west with 36 and the southeastern department of Puno with 32, the statistics show. In the first 11 months of the year, mineral explorers have homed in on Arequipa (671) and Madre de Dios in southeast Peru (618), with Ancash in third place (397). Peru has a total of 23,382 mining concessions currently valid covering almost 9,300 million hectares.