Peru in second attempt to formalize illegal mining

After five years of military raids against Peru's illegal mining operations, the government will now work to make it easier to formalize the country's estimated 200,000 informal miners, a senior official said.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's government, which took office in July, will focus on a three-pronged policy involving simplifying the process, providing financial incentives and ensuring greater presence of the state in mining areas, energy and mines minister Gonzalo Tamayo said.

"This set of actions aims to make us facilitators within the global mining formalization process, providing technical support and reducing the lack of opportunities," Tamayo said at a press conference at the ministry. "Above all, it aims to improve living standards for each of our miners and their communities."

Recently issued legislative decrees will seek to register informal miners from February 6-August 1, said Tamayo, who was accompanied by the ministers of environment, justice and culture. The formalization process will be extended until 2020, he said.

The previous government of Ollanta Humala also tried to formalize the sector, but the process was seen as overly complicated and had little impact.

Illegal and informal miners, who generate an estimated US$3bn in annual revenue, produced about 20% of Peru's 145t of gold output in 2015, according to the energy and mines ministry (MEM).

Over the past five years, the government has arrested miners and set up military bases and units to control the flow of fuel, chemicals and machinery to illegal mining operations in Amazon jungle areas such as Madre de Dios, curb exports of illegally produced gold and destroy unauthorized river dredges and gold mills.

Joint government and military operations have managed to recover 500ha of the Tambopata reserve in Madre de Dios region, which had been overrun by illegal gold miners, environment minister Elsa Galarza said at the ministry event.

LANDSLIDE

The government's bid to formalize the sector took on a more urgent tone as rescue workers battled for a fourth day to find six miners trapped since January 16 by a landslide at an informal mining operation in Arequipa region. The body of a seventh miner was found early Friday.

A team of police, firefighters and mineworkers have been operating pumps and electric generators 24 hours a day to dig mud and stones from the mouth of the mine, according to Canal N. Rescue workers have yet to perceive any signs of life from the miners who are trapped 250m underground, according to the Arequipa regional government.

"We're coordinating with the region to provide the necessary support to rescue the miners trapped in Acarí, Arequipa," Kuczynski wrote in his Twitter account.

Peru reported the deaths of 29 miners in 2016, many of them in informal operations, according to the ministry. At least six informal miners died after inhaling gases in an unauthorized operation in Huancavelica.