Peru Congress sends informal gold mining permit to president

Описание: (17 Dec 2025)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lima, Peru – 17 December 2025
1. Informal miners holding a Peruvian flag during a massive demonstration in downtown Lima
2. Miners blowing hundreds of plastic horns
3. Protesters walking
4. Street vendors watch miners marching towards Peruvian Congress
5. Miners marching
6. Police officers watch miners' demonstration passing by
7. Police officers forming a corridor so miners do not block the street
8. Miners in front of Peruvian Congress
9. Miners reacting with joy upon hearing that the permanent commission of Congress voted in favour of extending their temporary work permit for another year
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Máximo Franco Béquer, president of the National Confederation of Small-Scale and Artisanal Mining of Peru:
"The struggle of all Peruvians and all miners is one that we have won. It doesn't matter if it's for one year, it doesn't matter, but remember, authorities, members of Congress and government, formalization does not depend on us, it depends on you."
11. Miners
12. Permanent Commission of the Peruvian Congress voting to extend the work permit for informal miners for one year
13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Fernando Rospigliosi, President of the Peruvian Congress:
"The substitute text of the Energy Commission, which modifies Legislative Decree 1293 declaring the formalization of small-scale and artisanal mining activities to be of national interest, has been approved in a second vote."
14. Permanent Commission of Congress
STORYLINE:
Peru’s Congress on Wednesday sent President Jose Jeri a bill to sign that would extend for a fifth time a permit allowing informal miners to extract gold and copper through the end of 2026.

Jeri, who has previously expressed support for the extension, has 15 days to promulgate the law or return it to Congress with proposed changes.

Earlier, hundreds of informal miners marched near Congress in Lima to demand approval of the measure.

Temporary permits for informal miners have been repeatedly extended since 2016, as successive governments have failed to register and tax thousands of miners who, according to prosecutors, use mercury to extract gold in protected natural areas, contaminate Amazon rivers that supply Indigenous communities, or invade mining concessions held by third parties.

Peru recognizes three types of mining: formal mining, which meets all legal requirements; informal mining, which operates on a smaller scale and is in the process of legalization; and illegal mining, which operates in areas banned by law and has links to criminal groups.

Authorities say an undetermined number of informal mining registrations are being exploited by criminal organizations involved in mineral extraction.

In July, the government eliminated more than 50,000 temporary permits held by individuals who were not carrying out mining activities or had failed to take steps toward legalization.

The latest extension comes just months before Peru’s presidential and congressional elections scheduled for April.

Many lawmakers are seeking to win the support of informal miners, who number between 300,000 and 500,000, according to prosecutors and data from the miners themselves.

AP Video shot by Mauricio Muñoz and Cesar Barreto

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...