Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Peru Cerro Verde mine 1st-qtr net profit rises

Copper Miner Cerro Verde said on Monday its first-quarter net profit rose 137 percent compared to a year ago as prices for the red metal surged. Cerro Verde, owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc and Peru's Buenaventura, said its net profit in the first three months of 2008 was $352.1 million, compared with $148.6 million a year earlier. (Reuters - click here to read complete article)


Reliance Industries Plans Joint Venture With Pan Andean in Block 141, Peru

Pan Andean, the AIM listed oil and gas producer, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector enterprise with businesses in the energy and materials value chain, to farm into Block 141 in the high plateau of Peru. This move is in line with the stated Pan Andean strategy of reducing financial exposure, while accelerating drilling plans in potentially high value blocks. (OilVoice - click here to read compete press release)


Halt to drilling looms for Talisman in northern Peru

Native leaders from Peru will meet with Talisman Energy CEO John Manzoni today and ask him to stop operations on their land. The Calgary-based company, however, says that whenever they move into an area, they seek approval from the local communities first. "They've been elected by their communities to bring a message to Talisman to tell them that they don't actually want the company to operate on their land," said Maria Ramos. (Calgary Sun - click here to read complete article by Markus Ermisch)


Horizonte gives update on South American gold, silver and base metals exploration

Horizonte Minerals plc, the AIM listed exploration and development company focused on Brazil and Peru, is pleased to announce its results for the year ended 31 December 2007. Strong balance sheet with £2.4 million cash available to focus on generative project acquisition and development. Successful 1,600m drilling programme completed over two separate zones at El Aguila silver-lead-zinc project in Peru. Drilling returned. (Mineweb - click here to read complete press release)


Higher metal prices lift Southern Copper

Higher metal prices helped produce a 2.4 percent rise in first-quarter net income at Southern Copper Corp., despite lower production because of strikes. The Phoenix operator of mines in Peru and Mexico said it earned $565 million, or $1.92 per share, in the quarter, compared with a $552 million, or $1.87 per share, profit posted for the first quarter of 2007. Revenue rose 10 percent, to $1.5 billion from $1.36 billion a year earlier. (The Arizona Republic - click here to read complete article by Max Jarman)

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz


Of the six million gas tanks used by Peruvians mainly to fuel their stoves, three million are in unfit conditions because they are 30 years old and older, reported the country's National Gas Society (SNG).

According to the SNG, valves on 50 percent the old cylinders in circulation have not been replaced or even checked, thus placing the user's life in serious danger.

OSINERGMIN, the government regulatory agency in Peru responsible for monitoring industrial safety, has reported that 77 percent of pound gas tanks do not pass hydrostatic testing, a basic requirement when verifying if a gas tank is working properly, said Gilberto Canales, the general manager of SNG.

"These cylinders were introduced into the market by two companies that have been running since 1953 and who have never changed a valve or much less a tank," affirmed Canales.

He added that it was necessary to set up a fund to replace old gas cylinders so that the cost of renewing the tanks did not affect consumers.

Because of the bad conditions tanks are in, deadly accidents are taking place. Canales blamed irresponsible gas companies that painted over defective tanks and sold them despite the dangerous possibilities.

Maple Energy to raise $20 million via share placing

Maple Energy Plc, which is pursuing ethanol and oil exploration projects in Peru, said it is to raise $20 million through a share placing. Proceeds from the placing will be used to finance its ethanol project and its acquisition of a further 3.1 percent stake in Aguaytia Energy. Maple currently owns 17.5 percent of Aguaytia. A roadshow to potential institutional investors will take place between April 28 and May 9, the company said. (Forbes - click here to read complete press release)


Southwestern Announces Joint Venture on Its Cristo De Los Andes Project, Peru

Southwestern Resources Corp. is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Minera del Suroeste S.A.C. has entered into a Letter of Intent with Minera Antares Peru S.A.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Antares Minerals Inc., whereby Antares can earn up to a 60% interest in Misosa's Cristo de los Andes project, located immediately to the south of Antares' Haquira copper project in south-central Peru. (Marketwire - click here to read complete press release)


Reliance Ind set to buy majority stake in Peru oil block

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is set to acquire majority stake in an oil block in Peru. The company is understood to have recently inked an agreement with Pan Andean for acquiring stake in Block 141 in Peru. Sources told Business Line that an agreement has been signed between RIL and Pan Andean and now necessary approvals from higher authorities in Peru is awaited. (Business Line - click here to read complete article)


Rocmec Works Gold Prospects in Peru & Quebec

Rocmec Mining is moving forward with plans aimed at acquiring and brining into production six mining concessions outside of Arequipa, Peru as it continues to define and delineate gold resources at its Rocmec 1 property in Quebec’s Dasserat Township. The company also continues to develop its thermal fragmentation mining process, which holds out the promise of extracting ore from narrow vein, hard rock ore bodies. Rocmec in March obtained patents for Mexico and Russia, adding to those previously obtained for Canada, Morocco, South Africa and the U.S. (Resource Investor - click here to read complete article by Andrew K. Burger)


Sinchao Metals Step Out Intersects 126 Metres Grading 0.67% Copper

Sinchao Metals Corp. is pleased to announce the results from Drill Hole SDH-34, drilled on the Breccia Zone at the Sinchao Property in Peru. Assays have been received for the interval 0.0m to 501.5m, the bottom of the hole. Drill Hole SDH-34 intersected silicified dacite porphyry and breccia with clasts of quartzite and silicified dacite. (Marketwire - click here to read complete press release)

Southern Copper Q1 net profit up 2.4 pct

Southern Copper, a leading global metals producer, said on Friday its first-quarter net profit rose 2.4 percent from the same period a year ago, as copper output fell but prices rose. Southern, which is controlled by Grupo Mexico and operates mines and metallurgical facilities in Mexico and Peru, said its net profit in the January through March period was $565 million, compared with $551.7 million a year earlier. (Reuters - click here to read complete article)


Southern Copper says to pay $1.70/shr div

Peru's Southern Copper Corp, a leading global metals producer, said on Thursday it will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share. The dividend will be payable June 3 to shareholders registered by May 14. (Reuters - click here to read complete article)

Stratos Renewables Corporation, an emerging South American sugarcane ethanol producer, today announced the company has entered into a strategic agreement with affiliates of RNK Capital LLC to structure and manage commodity transactions in the global emissions trading market, including certified emission reductions and verified emission reductions that the Company may generate in the conduct of its sugar cane ethanol business. "Stratos Renewables is pleased to be partnering with RNK on what we believe will be a significant opportunity provided by our production of sugar cane ethanol in Peru," stated Stratos Chairman and President, Steve Magami. (Business Wire - click here to read complete press release)


US-Owned Smelter Fined for Pollution

The U.S. company running a large multi-metal smelter in the Peruvian city of La Oroya, one of the most polluted places on earth, is facing sanctions for violating air quality standards. Mining and metallurgical company Doe Run Peru overran emission limits to such an extent that on Mar. 11 the German independent auditing firm TÜV Rheinland withdrew their ISO 14001 environmental certification, issued in 2006. (IPS - click here to read complete article by Milagros Salazar)


DJ Votorantim Purchases $3.4 Mln Of Peru Miner Milpo Stock

Votorantim Metais Ltda. purchased 1,016,654 shares of Peruvian base metals miner Compania Minera Milpo SAA, totaling $3.4 million, the company said Thursday. The Brazilian conglomerate said it had increased its share of the Peruvian miner slightly to 25.06% from 24.88%. Votorantim, a Sao Paulo-based zinc, steel and nickel miner, offered to take a controlling interest in Milpo in March, and increased its offer earlier this month to $3.33 per share from $2.87. But Milpo had rejected both offers, saying these were too low. The offer expired Wednesday. (Trading Markets - click here to read complete press release)


Ventura Begins Second Drilling Program at Inmaculada Gold-Silver Project in Peru

Ventura Gold Corp. has begun a second drilling program at the Inmaculada project in southern Peru, following a three-month pause for the rainy season. A total of 3,500 meters of core drilling is planned for this second phase of drilling at the Inmaculada project, including 2,000 meters to continue testing the Quellopata veins and 1,500 meters to test the Minascucho breccia. (Marketwire - click here to read complete press release)


Tinka Defines 20 Million Ounce Silver Resource at Colquipucro, Peru

Andrew Carter, President of Tinka, announces that an independent 43-101 report on the Company's wholly-owned Colquipucro property in Peru has determined a silver resource as follows: (Marketwire - click here to read complete report)

Primax to invest US$ 5 million in construction of nine natural gas stations


The gas station chain Primax plans to invest more than five million dollars in the construction of nine natural gas vehicle (NGV) stations in Lima and Callao, the company's assistant general manager Carlos Gonzales announced.today. He added that four gas stations are in construction, while the other five stations need the respective authorization to start work. (ANDINA - click here to read complete article)


Canadian investors see "enormous" potential in environment sector

Canadian businessmen believe Peru's environment sector has enormous investment potential, Ottawa's ambassador to Lima Geneviéve des Riviéres was quoted as saying by state news agency Andina. "Canadian entrepreneurs are very interested in investing in the environment sector, in anything that has to do with soil management, because that is the work that mining companies, for example, are asking for more," des Riviéres said. (Business News America - click here to read complete article)


Maple Energy swings to full-year net loss of $1.99 mln

Maple Energy Plc. swung to a full-year loss due to exceptional costs of $3.5 million relating to its listing on AIM. The integrated energy company with assets in Peru posted a net loss of $1.99 million for the year to Dec. 31, 2007, against a profit of $399,000 the previous year. Revenue rose to $80.72 million in 2007 from $78.49 million a year earlier. (Thomson Financial - click here to read complete article)

Clean Energy Opens World’s Largest CNG Fueling Station in Lima, Peru To Serve Thousands of Natural Gas Vehicles Daily

Peru’s President Alan Garcia Perez, in Dedication Remarks, Says Countries Should Use Resources Like Natural Gas for Transportation Fuel Rather Than Compete with Agriculture-Based Biofuels for Food, Causing Widespread Hunger

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. today opened the world’s largest compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Lima, Peru. Peru’s President, Alan Garcia Perez, and Minister of Energy and Mines, Juan Valdivia Romero, joined US Ambassador to Peru, P. Michael McKinley, and Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy President and CEO, to inaugurate service at the station. (Business Wire - click here to read complete press release)


Duran Ventures and MacMillan Gold Peru Drilling Update

George A. Brown, CEO of both Duran Ventures Inc. and MacMillan Gold Corp., is pleased to provide the following drilling update from the Aguila Cu-Mo Target in Ancash, Peru. David Bending, M.Sc., P. Geo, and Cary Pothorin, P. Geo., are both Qualified Persons as defined in National Policy 43-101 and are responsible for all technical information contained in this joint news release. Hole 4 was extended to a combined length of 628.2 metres (News Release April 2, 2008). Deepening of Hole 5 was attempted and encountered difficulties with re-entry of the previously drilled and reported section (News Release October 4, 2007). (Marketwire - click here to read complete press release)

One of the largest metal smelters in the hemisphere lost its environmental certification in a highly unusual move taken by the company's third-party auditors.

The March 11 decision revokes certification granted two years ago to Doe Run Peru, an affiliate of the New York City-based RencoGroup, a private holding company owned primarily by U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert.

TUV Rheinland cited non-compliance with Peruvian environmental laws and the lack of adequate pollution controls as its rationale for revoking certification, according to OK International, Earthjustice and AIDA, non-profit groups that work to protect public health from industrial pollutants and to provide legal aid in environmental cases, often dealing with the extraction of natural resources.

A number of studies conducted by the government, as well as international health experts, have shown that almost all of the children living in the area surrounding Doe Run's smelter have high levels of lead in their bodies.

Many are severely exposed and require immediate medical treatment, according to a press release issued by OK International, Earthjustice and AIDA last week.

The decertification hit just as Doe Run Peru's employees began to strike.

More than one thousand workers from Doe Run Peru marched through the streets of Lima today. According to local NGO's they are asking for greater profit-sharing and increased corporate financial transparency.

A coalition of Peruvian religious leaders and grass roots activists are pushing the company to protect La Oroya's residents and its environment for moral and ethical reasons. It also seeks greater financial openness since profits may be used to complete the necessary environmental improvements.

"The care for life and the environment is of unavoidable urgency for every person and community. Humanity has been entrusted with the environment, which is an inheritance given by God as a common home that we should care for and protect," said Monsignor Pedro Barreto, Archbishop of Huancayo and president of the Regional Roundtable of Junin, which is pressing the company to comply with environmental standards

The Peruvian government granted the company an additional three-and-one-half-year extension to fulfill the obligations of its ten year-old environmental operations agreement.

Barreto was part of a high-ranking Peruvian religious delegation that traveled to the United States last June to urge Rennert to install pollution controls on moral and ethical grounds. The Renco Group and former plant operators, Doe Run, St. Louis, refused to meet with the delegation, referring them to Doe Run Peru.

Rennert is chairman of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York City, a modern Orthodox congregation.

"Revoking the certification should send a strong message to Doe Run that they have much more work to do," said Anna Cederstav, staff scientist with AIDA and Earthjustice and author of the book, La Oroya Cannot Wait. "Nevertheless, we are still concerned that, if paid enough, another certifying body will agree to provide Doe Run with a similar certification."

When Doe Run Peru obtained environmental certification in 2006 by TUV Rheinland, it called the document an "internationally recognized symbol of a company's dedication to superior quality, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement" on its website.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States has requested that the Peruvian government implement urgent measures to halt violations against the health of the citizens of La Oroya.

Elias Szczytnicki, regional director of Religions for Peace in Lima, said the religious community's efforts to bring the company into environmental compliance is not aimed at hurting profits, but of improving operations. "This is not good news," he said of the decertification. "This is bad news for us. Our interest is not to hurt the business. This news demonstrates that the health of the people continues running a great risk.

"The ideal news would be that the company receives several environmental certificates so that the people could live healthy lives."

Joining Hands Peru

Peru Milpo says revised Votorantim offer too low

Peruvian miner Milpo said a second takeover offer from Brazil's Votorantim still undervalues its share price. In a letter on the web site of Peru's securities regulator on Thursday, Milpo said its board of directors "maintains the position" expressed earlier this month that urged shareholders to consider the miner's outlook and performance before participating in the public offer. (Reuters - click here to read complete article)


Acero-Martin Appoints Chief Geologist for Pinaya Gold-Copper Project, Peru

Dr. Stewart Jackson, President and CEO of Acero-Martin Exploration Inc., is pleased to announce that the Company has hired Mr. John Romero as Chief Geologist for its Pinaya project in southern Peru. Mr. Romero is an accomplished geological engineer with over 15 years experience and a successful track record of advancing key mineral projects in Peru. (Marketwire - click here to read complete article)


Dynasty Enters Into Revised Agreement to Spin-Off Copper Duke Gold/Copper Project to SBI

Dynasty Metals & Mining Inc. has entered into a revised agreement with SBI Skin Biology Incorporated, to sell the core concessions of its Copper Duke gold/copper project to SBI. The revised agreement replaces the agreement previously announced by the Company on May 23, 2007 and is conditional upon, among other things, SBI obtaining all necessary regulatory approval and SBI completing a concurrent financing. (Marketwire - click here to read complete press release)

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Despite an international crisis that is affecting economies all over the world, Peru will register more investments and generate more employment in 2007 than it did in 2008, affirmed President Alan Garcia.

"I think this year, with respect to investments and the production of jobs, will be much more important than 2007", said the president.

"I am convinced that despite the looming international crisis, our country, thanks to investments, thanks to domestic and foreign capital for new projects, will be one of the highest in the world once again this year."

Peru's Head of State made these statements at the inauguration of a power station in Carabayllo, a northern district in the province of Lima.

It was reported that the new power plant is to benefit residents from Carabayllo to the district of Nuevo Chimbote with 220,000 volts of electricity and lower prices.

Garcia noted that there were many investments in the country's energy industry, stating that during his current administration he had inaugurated five thermal power stations and would soon be inaugurating another one in Chilca.