At least four new mining projects start operations next year

Four new mining projects located in different areas of Peru would start operations next year enabling to increase the country's mining production, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) reported Tuesday.

Chinese-owned Shougang Hierro Peru's expanded iron ore mine located in Marcona, Ica, is expected to start operations next year.

"One billion dollars will be invested in this project, which is expected to be concluded in 2011", MEM Mining Promotion Director Henry Luna said to Andina.

Compañía Minera Antamina's expanded mine in Ancash is also expected to be completed next year.

"Antamina is investing US$1.1 billion in expanding its mine which will generate more economic resources for the region", he said.

The company, which started operations in 2001 and mainly produces copper and zinc, recently announced a US$1.28 billion investment to expand its processing capactity in its San Marcos deposit, located in Huari, Ancash.

Compañía de Minas Buenaventura's Colquijirca project in Junin would be the third project which polimetalic reserves accounting for US$200 million investments.

Tantahuatay in Cajamarca, operated by Buenaventura and Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) will start production next year.

The mine is expected to produce between 80,000 and 100,000 ounces of gold and 426,000 ounces of silver a year requiring a US$56 million investment.

Peru, S Korea conclude free trade negotiations

Peruvian President Alan Garcia and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon on Monday declared that their countries have reached a final agreement on the bilateral free trade talks, wrapping up their 18-month-long negotiations.

Negotiations for the trade deal began in March 2009 in Seoul and a total of seven rounds of strategic dialogue were held between the two sides.

The agreement will see Peru lift its nine-percent tariff on South Korean automobiles and electronics and open the door for Peruvian agricultural and fishing products to enter the Asian giant's market.

In 2009, two-way merchandise trade totaled US$ 1.34 billion with Peruvian exports to South Korea reaching $748.7 million and Peruvian imports from the Asian nation reaching $599.6 million.

According to Peru's private investment promotion agency Proinversion, South Korea’s direct investment in Peru stood at more than US$ 40 million in 2009, especially in the country's high potential sectors such as transport, finances, industry, trade and oil production. (Andina)

Peru's GDP could grow over 6.8% in 2010

Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) could expand more than 6.8 percent this year, on the back of increasing domestic demand and the continuing inventory adjustment process.

Peru's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has raised its growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 6.8 percent, up from the previous projection of 5.5 percent.

According to MEF's 2011-2013 Multi-Annual Macroeconomic Framework (MMM), the revised GDP forecast is based on the faster-than-expected recovery of the global economy and buoyant domestic demand in the first half of 2010.

However, the ministry expects the Andean country's economic growth to ease next year to 5 percent, moderated by uncertainty over the global economy. "Another factor to be considered is the disappearance of temporary drivers of growth in 2010, such as the inventory adjustment process, the expansive economic policy and the rebound effect," it said.

In addition, the ministry projected the current year's fiscal deficit at 1.5% of gross domestic product, falling to 1 percent in 2011. The MEF figures also predicted annual inflation rates of 2.7% and 2% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. (Andina)

Peru, Korea to announce close of FTA negotiations on August 30

Peru and the Republic of Korea will officially announce the conclusion of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations on Monday, August 30, Peruvian Foreign Trade and Tourism Martin Perez said.

“There will be a fifth meeting on Monday morning to complete some unresolved points of the FTA, and then we’ll officially conclude the negotiations,” he told Andina news agency.

According to Minister Perez, the announcement will take place in a ceremony at the Government Palace presided over by President Alan Garcia and attended by Korean Foreign Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon.

The FTA Specific Business Meeting held last July in Washington (US) was a key event as significant results were achieved and only little details are left to be completed.

“In technical terms, the last round of negotiations was the one held in Washington. We've reached the last stage and we’ll announce the official conclusion of the process on Monday,” Minister Perez said. (Andina)

Peru International Reserves rose US$ 40.63 billion as of August 17

Peru's Net International Reserves (NIR) amounted to US$ 40.63 billion as of August 17, US$ 2 billion more than July’s closing, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) reported Saturday.

Such figure is equivalent to 20 months of imports and 4.3 times the primary issuance.

The evolution was driven by purchases of foreign currency at the Negotiation Table for US$ 1.16 billion and by higher valuation of investments (US$ 81 million).

The BCR foreign exchange position as of August 17 was US$ 29.17 billion, US$ 1.22 billion more than July’s closing.

Meanwhile, the bank reported that from August 10 to 17, the US dollar increased against the euro by 2.2 percent.

July preliminary data suggest significant dynamism of Peruvian economy - International Reserves rose US$ 40.63 billion

The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) highlighted Saturday the preliminary economic data in the fishery, mining and hydrocarbon sectors, registered in July this year, relevant to the economic activity, which may reflect an important dynamism of the production activity in that month.

Peruvian economic activity grew 3.63 percent in January, 5.92 percent in February, 8.76 percent in March, 9.3 percent in April and 9.2 percent in May, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (Inei).

According to statistics provided by Peru’s Ministry of Production, some 297,000 tons of anchovy were caught in July 2010, a 106.8 percent increase compared to July last year.

Hydrocarbon production in July 2010 increased 30.6 percent, according to Peru's state hydrocarbons promotion agency Perupetro.

Meanwhile, local cement dispatches went from 593,400 to 669,400 tons between July 2009 and July 2010, according to the National Association of Cement Producers (Asocem).

The BCR indicates that energy production rose 12.9 percent in July and increased 10.6 percent in the first 17 days of August.

Deputy Finance Minister Carlos Casas estimated that Peruvian economy will post two-digit growth rate in July.

Peru International Reserves rose US$ 40.63 billion as of August 17

 

Peru's Net International Reserves (NIR) amounted to US$ 40.63 billion as of August 17, US$ 2 billion more than July’s closing, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) reported Saturday.

Such figure is equivalent to 20 months of imports and 4.3 times the primary issuance.

The evolution was driven by purchases of foreign currency at the Negotiation Table for US$ 1.16 billion and by higher valuation of investments (US$ 81 million).

The BCR foreign exchange position as of August 17 was US$ 29.17 billion, US$ 1.22 billion more than July’s closing.

Meanwhile, the bank reported that from August 10 to 17, the US dollar increased against the euro by 2.2 percent. (Andina)

Peruvian cuisine cookbook published in Chinese

Peruvian cuisine moves forward to conquer the world with the publication of the book “History, Anecdotes, and Some Recipes from Peruvian Cuisine” written by Berit Knudsen and translated into Mandarin by the Peruvian Embassy in China under the auspices of the Interbank Group.

“Another special feature of the book is that it will be available in most of the languages. It is already available in Mandarin thanks to the support of the embassy, and we have an offer to translate it into Arabic and Russian,” the author said.

The hardcover edition, which includes an English version, was presented on July 28 at the Universal Exhibition of Shanghai, during Fiestas Patrias (national holydays), which in turn coincided with the day dedicated to Peru in this international exhibition.

The book titled History, Anecdotes, and some recipes from Peruvian Cuisine, was written originally in Spanish by Berit Knudsen, a woman in love with Peru and its food.

Her passion for cooking has allowed a clean and agile presentation of the ingredients and history of Peru’s most representative courses. She is the owner of the restaurant Fusion, in Lima.

This is the first book of Peruvian cuisine that the Peruvian State published in this Asian nation. "We were lucky to find this work, which is a primer, friendly and interesting, delicious and tasty with anecdotes about the origin of our food, said the ambassador of Peru in China, Harold Forsyth.

Peru has second best business climate in Latin America

Peru ranked second among the countries with best business climate in Latin America in July and achieved a sustainable improvement in performance last year, according to Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation and the Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.

Peru’s Economic Climate Index (ECI) increased to 7.5 points in July 2010, remaining stable as compared to April and higher over that of January 2010 (7.3 points), July 2009 (6 points) and April 2009 (5 points).

The highest ECI in the region is from Uruguay: 7.6 points. Other highlights are Peru (7.5 points), Brazil (7.3), Colombia (7), Chile (7), Paraguay (6.9), Mexico (6.3) and Argentina (5.6).

Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Paraguay saw a rise in the last quarter.

In July, the business climate in Latin America reached its best performance in one decade.

Latin America’s ECI increased to six points in July, the same as in April 2000 and higher over that of October 1997 (6.3 points).

Some 8,000 Peruvian SME are already exporting to the world

Some 8,000 Peruvian Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) are already exporting to the world and the number is expected to increase, reported Thursday the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur).

Some 97 percent of these enterprises export from US$50,000 to US$200,000, though some of them export over one million dollars, said Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Martín Pérez.

“We have trained over 15,000 SME in more than 20 regions. In Gamarra garment-making cluster, we have two stands where we provide support to small entrepreneurs on export and drawback processes”, he explained.

Other tools implemented by the Ministry to support SME are Tramifácil and Exporta Fácil, though the most important one is Expoperú. (Andina)

International Minerals reports strong Pallancata mine operating results

International Minerals Corporation reports that the Pallancata silver mine in Peru increased silver production by approximately 34% in the calendar second quarter of 2010 to 2.53 million ounces compared to the second quarter of 2009.

The Pallancata Mine is jointly owned by IMZ (40% interest) and Hochschild Mining plc (“Hochschild”, 60% interest and operatorship).

IMZ’s attributable total cash costs per ounce of silver (net of gold credit) decreased by 6% to $5.47 from Q1 2010 and payment of a cash dividend of $15 million (of which IMZ received $6 million for its 40% interest). Total dividends received by IMZ to date in 2010 are $16 million.

Stephen Kay, President and CEO of IMZ, stated that the Pallancata Mine continues to perform extremely well both at the production level and on an operating cost basis.

"IMZ has received record cash dividends from its 40% ownership in the mine of $16 million so far in calendar year 2010, compared to $7.6 million for the entire 2009 calendar year, which is a tremendous achievement,” he said.

Using a silver price of $16 per ounce, IMZ’s share of cash dividends to be paid out from the free cash flow from operations at Pallancata for calendar year 2010 is expected to total approximately $22 million (including the $16 million received to date).

This is based on the current IMZ production estimate of approximately 10.0 million ounces of silver and 33,000 ounces of gold for calendar year 2010 (on a 100% basis) and projected operating costs.

The $22 million of estimated cash dividends to be paid this year to IMZ is net of these capital expenditure requirements.

IMZ uses an equity accounting basis to record its 40% interest in the Pallancata Mine.

Hydrocarbons E&P investments in Peru reached US$5.3 billion

Oil companies operating in Peru have invested US$5.3 billion in the last five years in hydrocarbons exploration and production (E&P) activitites, which have been carried following environmental regulation and community relations patterns, reported Wednesday Perupetro.

Out of this investment, US$ 3.7 billion have been used in hydrocarbons production and US$ 1.6 billion in hydrocarbon explorations, which is the high risk investment that Perupetro has been able to attract from international companies as part of its promotion activities.

Attracting high risk investment from oil companies is a task that requires lots of effort and persuasion on behalf of Perupetro.

But it is a necessary task since it is essential to carry out exploratory activities that lead to find new reserves and reverse the hydrocarbons trade deficit which currently exists.

That is how in the last five years, Perupetro started an aggressive promotion campaign to promote investment opportunities in the hydrocarbon sector, which made investors from United States, Canada, France, Spain, Russia, India, Republi of Korea, and Colombia to install in the country.

At present, 60 oil companies, including Talisman, Reliance, Korea Nacional Oil Corporation, SK, Perenco, Pluspetrol, Burlington, PetroVietnam, Repsol, Cepsa, Petrobras and Ecopetrol, operate in the country. (Andina)

Best Western to open $30-million hotel in Peru by late 2011

Best Western International, one of the world's largest hotel chain, will open its first five-star Premier Hotel in Peru by the end of 2011.

With an investment of US$ 30 million, the new Best Western Premier Hotel will open in the Sarapampa beach of Cañete province in southern Peru.

“Construction began in August 2009 and is now 30 percent complete. We are working on meeting all safety and quality standards before we continue with the project," said Revolutions Perú SAC general manager John Reynolds.

Best Western Premier Vista Pacific Resort is a Condo-Hotel that is being constructed on the seafront at Sarapampa Beach, 109 kilometers south of Lima on Intercontinental Pan-American highway in the district of Asia.

For the development of this project, Revolutions Perú SAC has acquired 187.000 square meters, which will be divided into two phases that complement each other, namely the Best Western Premier Vista Pacifico Resort and the Beach community Las Terrazas.

Vista Pacífico Resort is a 5-star Condo Hotel with an area of 25,000 m2 by the sea that consists of 90 suites, 12 bungalows, 6 duplexes, 6 single rooms and 2 presidential suites. All have sea views and will accommodate for 4 or 6 guest.

The suites, bungalows and duplexes will be sold to private real state investors who will enjoy 4 weeks per year of personal use and the remaining 48 weeks their unit will be in the rental pool for the hotel at a 50% revenue share for the owners of the net room rate established by Vista Pacífico Resort.

This model has become one of the most popular forms of real estate investment in throughout the world to generate a financial return on the investment.

According to the company, a condo hotel signifies that people may enjoy all the amenities of the hotel and at the same time, be a participant of the profits generated by the revenue of the hotel rooms since you can be the owner of one or more of the suites that are sold to private investors.

This property is operated by Premier, the luxury line of Best Western Hotels, the largest hotel chain in the world, who are responsible for safeguarding their interests by ensuring standards of 5-star quality to the guests and, therefore, generating a good return on their investment.

Gaston Acurio among nine most influential chefs in the world

Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio was recognized as one of the nine most influential chefs in the world, bcoming part of the International Advisory Council of the Basque Culinary Center led by Spanish cook Ferran Adriá.

“Gaston Acurio is without doubt a person who has revolutionised all Latin America, his social work has been incredible,” said Ferran Adria in press conference.

The BCC Centre, created in March 2009 by Basque chefs will begin classes in September 2011. It includes a School of Culinary and Gastronomic Sciences plus a Research and Innovation Centre.

Located in San Sebastian, the faculty and the centre will be installed in a new building over more than 10,000 square meters, spread over five floors with the right equipment, restaurants, classrooms, research and tasting rooms.

The university will be the first of its kind to offer a four-year undergraduate degree course in culinary arts taught in both English and Spanish and one year masters degrees as well as shorter courses for cooking enthusiasts.

Authorities in Spain’s northern Basque country hope the university will position the region as the new “mecca of the world haute cuisine”, said Joxe Mari Aizega, the project director.

The International Advisory Council is composed by: Yukkio Hattori (Japan), Massimo Bottura (Italy), Michel Bras (France), René Redzepi (Denmark), Dan Barber (United States), Gastón Acurio (Peru), Alex Atala (Brazil) y Heston Bluementhal (United Kingdom). (Andina)

New Dimension receives title confirmation at Cenepa gold project

New Dimension Resources has provided an update on the Cenepa gold project, which covers one of the most attractive geological terrains in northern Peru and adjacent to the Kinross' Condor Project and Fruta Del Norte gold deposit in Ecuador

The company has been notified by its Peruvian legal council that title confirmation has been received for an additional Cenepa concession. Minera NDR Peru now holds title to seven key concessions with title for the remaining three original concessions anticipated shortly, according to a news release published today.

New Dimension has also been advised by its Peruvian legal council that the three remaining concessions, staked by NDR and currently awaiting title, have received a favorable opinion from the necessary respective government departments.

This is considered to be the final step in the process of granting full title to the concessions. In addition to the original concessions, NDR Peru has also applied for title to approximately 900 hectares in the immediate area.

"I am very pleased with our success in obtaining title to the addition concession and expect title to the final three concessions to follow shortly", said Fred Hewett, President and CEO of New Dimension.

Management believes that its land position is one of the most promising for discovery of mineralization on trend and proximal to their Condor Project. New Dimension looks forward to advancing the Cenepa gold project.

NDR Peru is finalizing plans for an upcoming exploration program at Cenepa. The Company expects to initiate exploration activities on the property shortly.

The Cenepa Project totals over 9,000 hectares in northern Peru along its border with Ecuador. The property, staked by NDR Peru commencing in 2006, cover the projection of a 20 kilometre long north-south trending mineral belt that includes Kinross' Condor Project and the Fruta del Norte gold discovery.

The Condor Project is situated in Ecuador near the Peruvian border and was acquired by Kinross in September 2008 through the US$1.2 billion dollar acquisition of Aurelian Resources Inc.

The Kinross property includes a NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Mineral Resource at Fruta del Norte consisting of 58.9 million tonnes grading 7.2 g/t gold and 11.8 g/t silver containing 13.7 million ounces of gold and 22.4 million ounces of silver.

Kinross currently has 4 drill rigs active on the project and have stated they intend to complete a pre-feasibility study in 2010.

Also within the Condor Project is the Aquas Mesas Sur prospect, which includes an announced drill intercept of 51.06 g/t gold over 9.2 metres. This prospect is the southern-most known gold occurrence within this newly emerging gold belt and is located only five kilometers north, and on trend with, NDR Peru's Cenepa concessions.

Although there has been very limited work in Peru where the mineral trend crosses the border, the Company believes the area is geologically highly permissive for the discovery of significant gold deposits.

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed by Fred Hewett the Company's President & CEO, a director and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

Over 25 Peruvian franchises to expand abroad next year

Peruvian franchises are expanding rapidly and hence more than 25 businesses will be operating abroad next year, Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion Board (Promperu) reported.

“At present, there are about 20 Peruvian franchises operating abroad, but we hope to add 25 more by 2011,” Promperu Export Director Juan Carlos Mathews said.

Promperu's proposal to boost this sector includes an intense promotion campaign in different foreign markets through specific business missions.

“It consists of small groups of 15 national businesses per mission aimed at attracting investors who are interested in opening Peruvian businesses in other countries,” Mathews told Andina.

Promperu Export Director said that among the franchises to make the jump are restaurants El Escodite del Gordo, Pescados Capitales, Las Costillitas and Osaka.

Xstrata approves US$4.2bln investment in Las Bambas copper project in Peru

Xstrata has approved a US$4.2 billion investment for the development of the major, low-cost, long-life Las Bambas copper project in southern Peru’s Apurimac Region, which construction is scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2011, subject to regulatory approvals.

The group will now formally exercise its option to transfer the Las Bambas mining titles from the Peruvian government agency Proinversión to Xstrata Copper, the company said in statement.

Las Bambas will be a world-class copper mine with initial production of 400,000 tonnes per annum of copper in concentrate, including significant gold, silver and molybdenum by-products, and first quartile cash costs, Xstrata said.

First ore is expected to be processed in the second quarter of 2014 with ramp up and full production reached by the end of that year.

Xstrata said a substantial resource base contained within three open pit mines provides a mine life of at least 18 years with significant further brownfield potential in the highly prospective Las Bambas Mineral District.

The company said that its recently announcement of a US$1.47 billion Antapaccay expansion to the Tintaya operation paves the way for the development of the major Las Bambas greenfield project.

"Together these projects will establish southern Peru as a first tier copper-producing division for the Xstrata Group," the company stated.

The Antapaccay development will expand production at Tintaya by 60% to 160,000 tonnes per year, while extending the mine life by at least 20 years.

The decision to approve the Las Bambas project follows the completion of a positive feasibility study, and overwhelming community support given to the project during the Public Audience for the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) on 15 July.

Public support for the project has been built upon Xstrata Copper’s strong commitment to engaging with local communities in a meaningful way from the earliest stages of project development and our proven track record at Tintaya.

Final government approvals of the ESIA and other permits are expected in the first half of 2011, based on the recent experience with Antapaccay.

The development of Las Bambas will generate an average of approximately 3,600 direct jobs during construction and 1,350 permanent jobs once in operation.

PepsiCo to invest US$200 million in Peru in next five years

PepsiCo will invest US$ 200 million in Peru over the next five years to consolidate its operations in the local market, reported CEO Indra Nooyi, who is visiting Lima.

The soft drink and snack food giant operates in Peru under the franchise model with a plant in Sullana (Piura) in addition to its bottler Ambev. It supplies the market with soft drinks, still drinks, sweet and salty snacks.

"PepsiCo's investment will go to facilities expansion, a significant scaling up of research and development including market development and new product development," Nooyi said after a meeting with Peruvian President Alan Garcia at the Government Palace in Lima.

In turn, President of the Latin America Beverages Division at PepsiCo, Luis Montoya, said the company is strongly committed to invest in Peru, which is confirmed by the presence of PepsiCo's CEO in the country.

On the possible entry of new PepsiCo's brands to the Peruvian market, Montoya said the local market has a enormous potential to grow.

"Worldwide, the company has 19 brands with a one billion dollar turnover and not all brands are present in Peru. So, here is a big opportunity", he said.

PepsiCo's President of South America Foods division Olivier Weber said the multinational has planned to invest US$ 3 million in the creation of a Center for Potato Research.

The three-year capital injection will have the technical support of Peru's Ministry of Agriculture (Minag) and the International Potato Center (CIP).

"The idea is to work with the Andean tubers and other types of seeds to develop new potato varieties that can be grown in other subtropical geographies where Pepsico is present", Weber said.

Peru third most stable economy in Latin America, says PwC

Peru ranked as Latin America's third most stable economy in a recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) among more than 170 South American companies.

Peru, which is expected to grow about 6.6 percent this year, is only surpassed by Chile and Brazil.

When asked about investment plans for the next two years, 54 percent of the polled companies said they were interested in investing in Brazil, 34% in Peru and Colombia, 31% in Argentina, and 28% in Chile.

Peru, along with Brazil, is expected to be among the top growing Latin American economies this year.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, is one of the world's largest professional services firms and the largest of the Big Four auditing firms including KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

(Andina)