New mining projects in Peru will attract over $3.6 billion in investments this year, adding to the overall industry forecast of $10 billion, said Wednesday the president for the country’s National Society of Mining, Oil and Energy (SNMPE), Eva Arias.
The South American nation’s extractive sector, which accounts for some 60% of the economy, saw investments for $8.5 billion last year and is expected to bring $53 billion over the next decade, added Arias.
According to LPBnews (in Spanish), mining investment jumped 18% last year compared to 2011 despite large-scale protests against exploration and extraction activities that swept the country in 2012.
SNMPE warned in September last year that, as a result of non-stop anti-mining protests in different regions of the country, investors had started looking for greener pastures and so mining investment in the South American nation was expected to fall.
Although that didn’t happen, the body said Peru did fall to third place from second in the list of world’s top copper and silver producers.
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