Meeting Latin America’s Greatest Explorers
Short note this week, as I’m prepping to leave for Lima, Peru. To catch up with Latin America’s exploration community at the proEXPLO conference next week.
This Peru-focused exploration conference is particularly timely. Given all the news recently about Peru’s growing production in copper and beyond — which has firmly cemented the country as one of the top spots globally for mining activity.
As always, one of the most interesting things about the conference will be to see who is attending. With Peru getting more and more attention from investors around the world — particularly Asia.
I expect there will be some reps from known players like China’s Chinalco and MMG. And there could be some officials from new and incoming firms — giving hints as to who will be next to sign up here.
The prizes for doing so are sizeable. As I’ve discussed, the Peru government is getting ready to auction some big, advanced copper deposits like Michiquillay later this year.
And it’s not just copper that’s of interest here — remember, Peru is also the world’s sixth-largest gold producer. With the country now putting out more bullion than South Africa, as of last year.
The conference features a number of sessions on precious metals (gold and silver), as well as copper and other base metals like zinc. All of which should give a good overview of current discoveries, as well as new leads and prospects across the country.
The timing for the show is particularly good — given news this week that Glencore is putting up a prime Peru asset for sale. The royalty on the major Antamina copper-zinc mine.
That royalty could reportedly go for up to $250 million. Making this one of the biggest opportunities to come along in some time. It will be interesting to see if any royalty players take advantage of the proEXPLO conference to get to know the country better.
Whatever the case, I’m sure it will be a stimulating week. Looking forward to seeing some of you there — if we haven’t connected already, drop me a line if you’re going to be in Lima. In the meantime, have a great weekend wherever your travels find you.
