INGEMMET will explore two reserved mining areas in Moquegua and Lima for three years

The Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET) will carry out regional mining prospecting work for three years in two new areas reserved by the Peruvian State. Supreme Decree No. 026-2026-EM, published in the Official Gazette El Peruano on Thursday, November 5, 2026, declares two Areas of Non-Admission of Mining Petitions (ANAP) in Moquegua and Lima, meaning no third party may submit mining requests in those zones for the duration of the prospecting.

The regulation is issued under Article 25 of the Single Ordered Text of the General Mining Law, approved by Supreme Decree No. 014-92-EM, which empowers the Ministry of Energy and Mines to authorize areas of non-admission of petitions for INGEMMET for maximum terms of five calendar years and with a cap of 300,000 hectares per area, respecting acquired rights and the country’s archaeological zones. The procedure is also governed by Articles 6 to 9 of the Mining Procedures Regulation, approved by Supreme Decree No. 020-2020-EM, which orders the transcription of the declaration to the Public Registries for its registration.

Two polygons with closed coordinates

Article 1 of the decree details the declared areas:

• ANAP GUANEROS: 7,700 hectares in the district of Moquegua, province of Mariscal Nieto, department of Moquegua, delimited by a closed polygon of 16 vertices in UTM WGS84 coordinates.
• ANAP QUIPAN: 6,700 hectares in the districts of Aucallama and Huamantanga, provinces of Huaral and Canta, department of Lima, delimited by a closed polygon of 10 UTM WGS84 vertices.

Together, the reserve reaches 14,400 hectares. According to Report No. 561-2026-MINEM-DGM/DTM from the Mining Technical Directorate of the General Directorate of Mining, in both areas “there is no overlap with current mining rights and/or archaeological zones.”

Three years of prospecting and obligations

Article 2 authorizes INGEMMET to execute regional mining prospecting for a term of three (03) years in the two ANAPs, in line with the request formulated by the Presidency of its Board of Directors through Official Letters No. 1015-2024-INGEMMET/PE, No. 1046-2024-INGEMMET/PE, and No. 000074-2026-INGEMMET/GG.

Article 3 obligates the institute, as the holder of the areas, to respect the integrity of:

• Archaeological or historical monuments and hydro-energy and hydraulic projects.
• The National Road Network, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, and multi-product pipelines.
• Barracks, ports, and national defense works or State institutions for scientific and technological research purposes.

Available studies and previous opinions

Article 4 provides that INGEMMET, under its responsibility, shall make available to the public for a fee the studies containing information from its prospecting work one month before the expiration of the term, after which they shall be freely available, unless the Agency for the Promotion of Private Investment (PROINVERSIÓN) intervenes.

The issuance of the decree received favorable opinions from the Mining Management Directorate (Report No. 1276-2026-MINEM-DGM-DGES) and the General Office of Legal Advice (Report No. 1442-2026/MINEM-OGAJ). Furthermore, on August 28, 2026, the Multisectoral Commission for Regulatory Quality declared the Ex Ante Regulatory Impact Analysis inadmissible, meaning the sector was not required to submit a file to that body.

The instrument bears the signature of the President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, and is countersigned by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Guillermo Shinno Huamaní; it was issued at the Government House on November 4, 2026.

The reservation of 14,400 hectares freezes for three years the possibility for companies and natural persons to submit petitions in two areas of Moquegua and the highlands of Lima, such that the geological information generated by INGEMMET will first be for sale and then freely available to the market, which conditions mining investment decisions in both departments.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, No. 19618, November 5, 2026, Legal Norms, pp. 23-24 (official reference: Supreme Decree No. 026-2026-EM).