Peru's government expects mining investment to exceed $7 billion in 2026, its highest annual level in a decade. Spending had reached approximately $4.1 billion from January through July, up 45% from 2025, according to Energy and Mines Minister Guillermo Shinno, who serves under the government of Keiko Fujimori, which took office in July and has pledged to speed up permitting to attract investment.
The government is also moving projects through its approval process. Shinno told lawmakers the Ministry of Energy and Mines had authorized 150 projects representing $3.1 billion in proposed investment through August, split among 87 beneficiation concessions, 39 exploitation permits and 24 exploration authorizations. Its goal is 240 projects by year-end.
An Authorization Is Not Money Already Spent
The $3.1 billion is associated with authorized projects, not money already invested, and an authorization does not mean construction has begun. Financing, remaining approvals, engineering and a company's final investment decision can still determine whether a project moves forward. A Michigan copper project's pre-feasibility study shows the same gap, with permits and financing still ahead of its investment decision.
Two projects named by the ministry illustrate the difference. At the operating Constancia copper mine, Hudbay Minerals said a June permit amendment, its fifth at the mine, raised authorized annual mill-processing capacity from 31 million to 34 million metric tons and covers mine-plan changes, tailings transport and water management.
Zafranal, a planned copper-gold mine in Arequipa valued at roughly $1.9 billion, remains a different kind of decision. The government cited a beneficiation authorization worth approximately $1.04 billion, a narrower figure than total project cost that I could not independently confirm. Teck moved Zafranal into asset preservation and ceased early works by the end of February 2026, then continued permitting and secured a May authorization to build its processing facility. The August authorization is a milestone, not a construction start.
Exports Are Rising Faster Than New Production Capacity
The stakes are large for Peru's export economy. The National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy reported $42.2 billion in mining exports in the first half of 2026, up 56% year over year, with copper accounting for $19.5 billion and gold for $15.8 billion. Export value is also affected by metal prices, not only new mine output. Peru produced 1.59 million metric tons of copper from January through July, up just 2.2% year over year, while gold output fell 6.4% to 58.3 million fine grams over the same period, even as both metals' export value jumped on higher prices. Reuters reported that most of the roughly $7 billion in 2026 mining investment is aimed at sustaining existing operations or extending mine life, rather than adding significant new production. Copper buyers tracking new domestic processing capacity elsewhere are watching that distinction just as closely.
Shinno also said the government is working to eliminate roughly 27 of the sector's permitting requirements, long timelines that have turned into a capital allocation risk for project sponsors elsewhere. The government aims to advance roughly $40 billion in mining investment over five years, and its challenge extends beyond paperwork. Peru's ombudsman recorded 92 socioenvironmental conflicts nationwide in August and said 66.3% were linked to mining, though this does not mean each authorized project is in conflict.
The measure to watch through year-end is whether authorized projects progress to funded work and whether actual spending reaches the government's forecast. For companies following Peru's copper supply, a permit, an investment decision and production remain three separate things, and treating them as one risks overstating how much capacity is actually coming.
