LIMA (Reuters) -A Peruvian congressional committee on Tuesday approved a bill to extend temporary permits for informal miners until the end of 2027, a move that came as more than a thousand miners protested outside the legislature against the permits’ looming expiration.
The bill will now be debated in a full plenary session of Congress for final approval. The program, known as REINFO, which grants a temporary legal status, has already been extended several times and is currently scheduled to expire in December.
Renewed demonstrations broke out earlier in the day by miners who argue that government efforts to push them toward full formalization of their claims are too complex and costly.
Many miners, most of whom extract gold, are seeking up to five more years to transition out of the temporary system.
Formal mining companies and industry professionals have voiced concerns that another extension could increase illegal activity. They say the REINFO scheme has enabled illegal miners, at times operating alongside criminal gangs, to profit while gold prices hit record highs on international markets.
The debate comes just five months before general elections in which many legislators are seeking re-election.
Union leader Maximo Franco Bequer told Reuters that he met on Friday with President Jose Jeri, who took office last month. The president “promised us that before taking a position on any potential decision by Congress, he will assess the situation of informal miners,” Bequer said.
Peru is a global mining powerhouse and exported $15.5 billion worth of gold in 2024. An estimated 40% of that gold is of illegal origin, according to sector data and the country’s financial regulator.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Additional reporting by Anthony Marina; Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Lincoln Feast.)
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