For a few months there has been talk of a good cycle in metal prices and one of them is gold. According to Central Reserve Bank (BCR)the value of this metal, between March 2 and 9, was quoted at US$1,988 an ounce.
Despite that price, local production is not high enough to take advantage of it. According to figures from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem), a little more than 7.9 million fine grains were produced in January, which, although it was 4.5% higher than the first month of last year, meant a decline of 2.9% if compared to December 2021.
Minem figures also reveal that gold exports increased 28.6% in 2021 and totaled US$10,121 million, but in December there was a slowdown of 1.78%.
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Meanwhile, in the portfolio of mine construction projects, the investment amount amounts to US$7,818 million and includes six works.
Little use
The general manager of Kallpa SAB, Alberto Arispe, explained to this newspaper that in 12 months the price of the precious metal has risen around 16% and is in its best moments. Even in the week it exceeded US$2,000 an ounce at some point.
“Gold is an asset that becomes a refuge when there is war and when there is inflation (…). What has driven the price is the war between Russia and Ukraine. We are in a situation where there is inflation and war”commented.
In that sense, he considered that it is a problem, of this and other governments, that they do not take advantage of this good moment of gold and other metals.
“Peru should attract private capital to explore gold and copper (…) When prices are high, mining companies make a lot of money and reinvest it,” he said.
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For its part, Peru21 analyst and columnist Anthony Laub He regretted that the portfolio of mining projects is not promoted, and assured that if this were done a few years ago, today we would be taking advantage of the metal price cycle.
“Five years ago an ounce cost an average of US$1,200. If we had given a space for the mining projects to go ahead, today we would be taking advantage of the prices”, he commented.
He recalled the Conga gold project, whose estimated investment is US$4.8 billion and which has been paralyzed for more than 10 years.
“With Conga, Cajamarca would not be one of the poorest regions in the country. In gold production there has been no major development of new mines that produce this mineral, it has not been given a boost, ”he assured.
In the same way, he considered that if you want to take advantage of another ‘boom’ in metal prices in a few years, you should work now on promoting new projects.
Keep in mind
- According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, in 2021 Peru was positioned as the second gold producer in Latin America and ranked 11th in the world.
- Gold production amounted to 96,585,647 fine grains in 2021, up from 88,053,944 fine grains the previous year, but still below pre-pandemic levels, as in 2019 production exceeded 128 million fine grains.
