Government seeks investors for mining sector

Paraguay's government will call on international consultants to propose investment projects to reactivate the mining sector, mining and energy vice-minister Hector Ruiz told BNamericas. The government's planning ministry is drawing up a list of consulting companies that could carry out pre-feasibility studies and could advise investors interested in mining projects in the South American country, Ruiz said. The Paraguayan government already has support from the Canadian government and the countries of the Mercosur southern cone trade pact, the vice minister added. The government will publish the list in mid-February and call an auction at the end of February. The bidding terms are ready. "[Those that can bid in the auctions] will be only those that are familiar with the international mining market and know exactly where to focus works that will encourage greater activity in this sector," Ruiz said. The plan is part of a strategy to change the passive attitude within the vice-ministry toward attracting new investment, he added. "We want to eliminate this vegetative state we have always had in the mining sector, which has not allowed us to advance in mining activity," he said. As well as giving a diagnosis of the investment possibilities in the sector, the government's plan will also help to establish the necessary parameters to implement a mining policy. "This [plan] will not only be for 2004, but for the next five years and maybe after that as well," Ruiz said.