Teamwork needed for Peru to develop full mining potential – Anglo American Peru CEO

Adolfo Heeren, CEO of Anglo American Peru. (Image by Anglo American).

As long as all interested parties join forces, Peru can take advantage of its ideal conditions to boost and develop the local mining industry, the CEO of Anglo American Peru, Adolfo Heeren, said at the Perú Mining Investments Summit 2024 held this week in Lima.

“If we were playing a card game, our country would have five winning cards: reserves and geology to develop projects; a promising demand in the international market; leading actors; a stable macroeconomic environment over the last decades, and people prepared to make these projects a reality,” Heeren said. “We have the winning hand, but civil society, the private sector and the government must work together.”

According to the state news agency Andina, the executive noted that Peru has proven to the world that it is possible to advance mining projects in the country as it has maintained ‘proper’ macroeconomic levels and miners operating there have shown to be resilient in the past few decades. This is despite the challenges that still need to be addressed when it comes to administrative and permit procedures, as well as infrastructure.  

“This situation is very similar in other countries. The main difference lies in the ability to work as a team to overcome challenges. This is where some countries rebound and others stall,” Heeren said.

The CEO of Anglo American Peru emphasized that in addition to all the prior, investors are paying close attention to countries’ and companies’ sustainability indicators. Therefore, he stressed that miners should have a clear course of action when it comes to their environmental, social, and governance strategies. 

As an example, he mentioned that the use of autonomous trucks as part of an automation process not only increases efficiency, sustainability and safety but also fosters the creation of new companies within the mining sphere.