He was not clear when indicating whether he was going to expand it or not. Premier Ernesto Álvarez said that a possible extension of the Comprehensive Mining Formalization Registry (Reinfo) “is under study” and “under evaluation” by the government of José Jerí.
These statements were made after his presentation before the Congressional Budget Commission, where he offered a press conference and answered journalists’ questions about the extension of the Reinfo, which expires on December 31.
At the beginning, Álvarez touched on the topic, warning that he saw a problem in a possible expansion of the Reinfo, but later he left open the possibility of an extension by pointing out that artisanal mining—in reference to informal mining—needs more time to formalize.
“The big problem is that if Reinfo is renewed, it is an incentive for illegal miners, but on the other hand, artisanal mining needs more time to try to formalize,” he responded to journalists, recognizing the complexity of the issue.
Does it open the possibility?
Álvarez later explained that the situation is broader and more structural:
“The government’s problem, and the national problem, is that there is artisanal mining—which is ancestral—and there is also illegal mining, and there is the improper use of deposits that are not exploited, concessions that are apparently rented to illegal miners, and there is a whole structure of corruption and mafias that revolves around this illegal mining.”
The premier added that correcting this problem not only involves fighting corruption, but also reviewing the legal basis that regulates the sector:
“Correcting it entails not only attacking their corruption networks, preventing gasoline and explosives from entering, not only with the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), trying to track the money; essentially, it is also a legal problem, since the legal structure of our country does not allow for more. We have to propose leaving the bases to the next government for the need to reorganize the main wealth of our country: mining.”
Then, he pointed out that formalization in Peru is extremely expensive:
“Formalization costs a lot of money, because the laws in Peru have been structured in such a way that the only mining that can be formalized and comply with the more than 180 steps is large-scale mining, which has a lot of money to take this leap and overcome the fence.”
Until that moment, everything indicated that it left the door open for the government to evaluate an expansion of Reinfo.
But when he was about to retire, the journalists insisted that he specify whether the Executive will finally expand the registry or not.
Are you going to expand it or not? They told him.
“It is under study, under evaluation,” he responded, opening up that possibility even more.
This Friday they debate prediction in Arequipa
In that line, Peru21 confirmed that this Friday, at 11:00 am, in Arequipa, the prediction posed by the expansion of Reinfo will be debated in the Energy and Mines Commission.
The most controversial bill is the one presented yesterday by the Podemos congressman, Guido Bellido, who proposes an extension of almost four years, until June 2029.
As this media has already reported, the informal and illegal miners grouped in Confemin demand a five-year extension of the Reinfo and the reversion of idle mining concessions.
Illegal miners near Congress
In parallel, while Ernesto Álvarez withdrew from Parliament, the protest by illegal and informal miners continued in front of Congress for the third consecutive day.
The president of that union, Máximo Franco, declared to Perú21 that they will not move from the Center of Lima until the Government approves a new extension of the Reinfo.
“We will not leave until there is a new expansion,” he warned.
Will Confemin get its way again, through marches and sieges to Congress, as happened last July, when that registration was extended until December?
