Henry Luna, head of Mining Promotion at the Minsitry said that US$ 809.24 million were invested in 2010 in mining infrastructure projects, 736.55 million in production, US$ 614.56 million in exploration, US$ 517.03 million in mining equipment, US$ 509.91 million in project design, US$ 413.57 million in mineral reduction plants and US$ 424.26 million in other areas.

"In Peru, mining investments are in the hands of the private sector, unlike other countries such as Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela, where mining investment is also public,” Luna said.

In addition, Luna noted that mining concessions cover only ten percent of Peruvian territory, while only one percent corresponds to exploration and/or exploitation stage.

Commenting on Tia Maria Project, he said that MEM expects that Southern Peru continues working and investing in the project despite recent problems with local communities as this is not the first project facing such troubles.