El Salvador lawmakers overturn national mining ban
The legislation will grant the Salvadoran government sole authority over mining activities within the country's land and maritime territory.
Mining investment worth $7.5 billion, corresponding to 135 projects, are stalled in Peru as the country’s environmental authorities linger over the environmental impact assessments (EIAs) submitted last year, reports El Diario.
According to the newspaper, 53% of the total reports submitted to Peru’s Mining Environmental Affairs department are still under evaluation.
The president of Peru’s Central Bank (BCR), Julio Velarde, warned last month that private investment in the country’s resource sector was expected to decrease by at least $ 2.9bn between 2013 and 2014 due to the authorities’ delay
He also warned that several mining projects, particularly copper ones, are at risk of being shelved due to processing hassles and social conflicts.
Peru’s mining, oil and energy society (SNMPE) said last September that, as a result of almost a year of non-stop anti-mining protests in different regions, investors had started looking for greener pastures and so mining investment in the South American nation was expected to fall 33% this year.
Behind Chile, Peru is the world’s second biggest producer of copper and silver and a major producer of gold, zinc, lead and other minerals.
(Image by The US National Archives)
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