The widely referenced ‘lithium triangle,’ which includes Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, may soon be called the ‘lithium square’ with the addition of Peru into the powerhouse mix of lithium-rich South American countries. “Peru is among the ten richest countries in minerals worldwide and dominant sector in the Peruvian economy representing 8.5% GDP while minerals exports constitute 63.9% of Peru’s total exports,’ reports Peru21.
Peru is serious about its bid to become a world leader in the production of battery metals, especially copper and lithium. That’s the clear message that the nation’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Oscar Vera, delivered. Peru’s Economy Minister, Alex Contreras, said that “a window of opportunity” opened with “a lot of interest” in speeding up development in Peru as decisions in other neighbouring countries were spooking investors.
Our company American Lithium Corp., through our Peruvian subsidiary Macusani Yellowcake, is the developer of Falchani Lithium Project, the 6th largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the world, which is located in Peru. As we work hard to develop this project so it can be built into a mine as quickly as possible, we are mindful that 384 new mines are needed to meet projected battery demand by 2035, according to the metals market research firm Benchmark Intelligence.
With the Western world’s mineral-rich nations’ dire need to bring new lithium supplies on-stream as fast as possible, Peru is a country that merits its rightful place amongst the ten richest countries in minerals worldwide with abundant deposits of lithium, copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc.
Accordingly, the new government in Peru has been promoting mining as a means of playing a meaningful role in the green energy revolution while at the same time introducing measures to further grow its economy, which has generally performed better than its neighbors in recent years. Peru has a long-standing history of being pro-mining, and it has enshrined mining laws in its constitution to protect the mining industry from too much political meddling.
The mining industry is a vitally important economic sector in Peru. The Peruvian State’s role in mining is as a regulator and promotor of the sector subject to compliance with general mining and environmental law, with the Peruvian Constitution ensuring that “natural resources, renewable and non-renewable, are patrimony of the Nation.”
Furthermore, the Ministry of Energy and Mines is in the process of significantly streamlining Peru’s somewhat protracted existing mine permitting and expansion processes to encourage the attraction of much-needed investment capital and the building of more mines, good news for the economy and the country and a great step for developers. By way of example, American Lithium recently received approval from the Peruvian government to explore additional development and discovery drilling in and around Falchani.
