Peru Bill Offers 30,000 Informal Miners 2 More Years

PERU · MINING

Peru, a major copper and gold producer, wants to give about 30,000 informal miners two more years to get full permits. Mining minister Guillermo Shinno presented the proposed law on Monday, 12 October, according to Andina, the state news agency.

Shinno said the current register of informal miners will close without fail on 31 December. For American investors in Peruvian mining, the bill also rewrites when concession owners answer for damage done by small miners on their land.

What the Minister Announced

Guillermo Shinno heads the Ministry of Energy and Mines, known as Minem, which regulates Peru’s mining industry. He serves under President Keiko Fujimori of the conservative Fuerza Popular party, who took office on 28 July 2026.

On Monday, Shinno presented the proposed small-scale mining law after meeting former mining ministers, business leaders, economists and academics, Andina reported. In Spanish the reform is called the Ley MAPE, short for small-scale and artisanal mining.

“I reaffirm that the Comprehensive Mining Formalisation Register (Reinfo) will end without fail” on 31 December 2026, Shinno said, according to Andina. Reinfo, Peru’s register of informal miners, is a temporary list of small miners who promised to obtain full legal permits.

The ministry intends to send the bill to Congress on Thursday, 15 October, the broadcaster RPP and the business daily Gestión reported last week.

What the New Mining Law Would Change

Miners on the register by the deadline would move into a temporary “consolidation” regime from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028. It would apply only to people already registered, so no newcomers could join.

About 30,000 miners are still in the formalisation process, according to Gestión and RPP. Gestión reported that the regime gives them two more years to complete their pending requirements.

Alongside it, a permanent ordinary regime would apply to new operators and to producers who complete their permits. Starting or restarting a mine would require a ministry authorisation and an environmental certificate, Andina reported.

The bill would create Formape, a new national agency for small-scale and artisanal mining attached to the ministry. It would authorise mines to start work, review environmental plans and run systems to trace minerals from the mine to the final sale.

Why Concession Owners Are Watching

In Peru, the state grants mining concessions, and holders can let smaller operators work part of their land under an operating contract. The bill sets out who answers for damage in those cases.

Where a valid operating contract exists, the small operator alone would be liable for environmental and workplace safety breaches, Andina reported. Without a contract, the concession holder would share liability for environmental damage with those doing the mining.

Gestión reported that this joint liability would apply if the authorities prove the concession holder took part. Proven environmental violations would also become automatic grounds for ending an operating contract.

The bill would also let Banco de la Nación, Peru’s state-owned bank, open current and savings accounts for small miners. Its rules would cover ore buyers, transporters, processors and traders, not only miners.

A Register Extended Four Times

The register of informal miners was meant to be temporary, but it has been extended four times, Gestión reported in late August. The paper also reported that Shinno had told the TV channel Canal N a further extension was possible.

In September he ruled it out. “Our proposal is that there be no extension of Reinfo,” Shinno told Canal N on 18 September.

He also said miners’ groups agree with the ministry on several points, but disagreements remain. On Monday, he restated that the register of informal miners closes on a fixed date.

What It Means for You

For US investors, the liability rule stands out, because it would reach any concession holder with small miners on its land, including foreign-owned companies. Fujimori’s government has so far kept Peru’s rules for foreign investors intact while courting foreign capital.

For buyers of Peruvian gold and copper, the tracing system aims to follow minerals from origin to sale. How strict it becomes will depend on decrees the government has yet to issue.

That matters to gold buyers abroad. In September, a think tank estimated that illegal gold could outsell legal gold in Peru’s exports this year.

What Is Not Known

The final text that the ministry will send to Congress has not been published. It is not known when lawmakers will vote, or whether they will pass the law before the register of informal miners closes on 31 December.

The cost and staffing of the new Formape agency have not been published. How the main small miners’ federations will respond to the final text is not known.

More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Peru’s register of informal miners?

It is Reinfo, a temporary register of small and artisanal miners who committed to getting full legal permits. Energy and Mines Minister Guillermo Shinno says it will end on 31 December 2026.

What happens to miners on the register after 31 December?

Under the proposed law, they would move into a temporary regime from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028 to finish their permits. No new miners could join it.

Is the new mining law already approved?

No. The ministry intends to send the bill to Congress on Thursday, 15 October, and lawmakers must still debate and vote on it.

Why does this matter to foreign mining companies?

The bill sets out when a concession holder shares liability for environmental damage caused by small miners on its land. That rule would apply to local and foreign concession holders alike.

Sources: Andina (state news agency): Ministerio de Energía y Minas presenta propuesta de nueva Ley MAPE, 12 October 2026; Gestión: Nueva Ley MAPE daría hasta fines de 2028 a 30,000 mineros para completar su formalización, 10 October 2026; RPP: Gobierno presentará proyecto de la Ley MAPE el 15 de octubre, 9 October 2026; Gestión: Reinfo caminaría a su quinta prórroga en gobierno de Keiko Fujimori, 27 August 2026; Canal N: Guillermo Shinno: nueva ley MAPE planteará formalización simplificada para mineros vigentes, 18 September 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error

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