Lima will welcome mining leaders from across the world in 2026 as Peru hosts the 27th World Mining Congress, a major mining conference and exhibition, from 24-26 June. The Peruvian Government has declared the event a matter of national interest.
Peru was ratified as the host during the 104th meeting of the International Organising Committee of World Mining Congresses on 25 June 2023, one day before the start of the 26th World Mining Congress in Brisbane, Australia. The Brisbane edition attracted 30,000 attendees and hosted more than 1,100 exhibitors.
The announcement comes as Peru grapples with mounting challenges in its mining sector. The country has 12% of the world’s total copper reserves, and relies on copper exports for its economy. However, Peru’s copper production fell in 2024 for the first time since 2019.
One of the main issues is Peru’s “informal mining” crisis, which has seen local communities like the Indigenous community of Pamputa (in the Andes) begin their own mining operations without government license. The Indigenous community have built one of the largest informal mines copper mines in the world, with profits of $300m per year.
Choosing Peru as the next destination for the World Mining Congress, therefore, marks an attempt to address some of these issues. The last time the WMC was held in Peru was 1974.
Abraham Chahuán, director of copper operations for South America at commodity giant Glencore and interim president of Peru’s Antamina mine, will chair the event. His leadership comes as the current mine project pipeline points to a potential 30% copper supply shortfall by 2035 due to declining ore grades, rising capital costs, limited resource discoveries and long lead times.
Chahuán has argued that one of Peru’s main problems is “the absence of the state in the areas where the operations are located, and the limited capacity that local authorities have to manage the important resources that the operations contribute”.
A venue has not yet been announced for the 2026 event.
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