Panama president sees no environmental threat from copper at closed First Quantum mine
Environmentalists as well as mining companies had raised concerns over risks from leaving the copper on site.
Reuters reports Peru’s mining firms have agreed to pay higher royalties in an overhaul of the current system, sources on both sides of negotiations between companies and President Ollanta Humala’s government said on Tuesday.
Under the new system, companies would pay royalties based on their operating profits, not sales and will be be similar to the system used in Chile. The new royalties rates still need to be defined, but they would likely be higher than the current rates of 1% – 3% charged on sales.
The initiative comes as mining companies in Peru plan to invest $42.5 billion over the next decade, mainly in copper and gold projects. Peru is the world’s largest miner of silver and the second-largest miner of copper.
Reuters reports during his campaign, Humala promised to introduce a tax on the windfall profits of miners to raise funds for social programs in a country where a third of the people live in poverty.
Taxation Information and News reports the cumulative amount of corporate taxes paid by Peru’s mining industry accounts for over 30% of the government’s annual tax revenues. At the moment, approximately 80% of these collections are used to pay for public services.
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As of 2010, Mexico is the world’s largest silver producer generating 141 million ounces, to Peru’s 128.3moz. (From the World Bureau of Metals Statistics)