Peruvian Mining Minister Says Lithium Mining Regulation Will Be Ready This Year

Peruvian Energy and Mining Minister Juan Carlos Liu said last Thursday that he was confident Peru would formulate regulation for lithium mining in the coming year, according to Reuters news.

Canada's Plateau Energy Metals announced in 2018 that it had discovered 2.5 million tons of high-grade lithium resources and 124 million pounds of uranium at the Falchani deposit in the Puno region of Peru.

Plateau said the deposit could be the world's largest lithium mine but said Peru's lack of regulation over the exploitation of radioactive material was an obstacle. The lithium at the hard-rock deposit can only be obtained by also extracting uranium.

Liu told a foreign media press conference that Peru had sought international assistance to develop a legal framework for lithium mining. He did not provide further details, but last year the government said it was receiving legislative support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Peru's neighbors Chile, Bolivia and Argentina are part of the so-called lithium triangle containing the world's largest reserves. They already have projects to fully exploit this metal, which is used in batteries to power electric vehicles, a booming global market.

Liu said that the presence of radioactive uranium in Peru's hard-rock deposits means the government "must take all precautions for it to be exploited together with lithium".

In August 2018, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra told Reuters that his government would pass lithium regulation laws here "within six months".

Liu replaced the former mining minister in October 2019, promising to "promote sustainable investment for the benefit of millions of Peruvians".

Liu also said that copper production rose by 4% to 2.5 million tonnes in 2019 from 2.4 million tonnes in 2018 and he expected the figures in 2020 will still be "better".

Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer and sixth largest gold producer. Liu said investment in the mining sector is expected to reach about $ 6.3 billion across several initiatives, compared to $ 6.1 billion last year. The launching of the lithium mining regulation would deepen the Peruvian mining development.

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