Peru DS 014-2026-EM — Mining exploration DIA fast-track platform threshold raised 40→60

Mechanism

DS 042-2017-EM (Reglamento de Protección Ambiental para Actividades de Exploración Minera) sets the environmental-instrument tier a mining exploration project must use based on the number of drilling/exploration platforms it plans: projects below a platform ceiling qualify for the lighter, faster Declaración de Impacto Ambiental (DIA), while projects above it must undergo the longer semi-detailed Estudio de Impacto Ambiental (EIAsd). DS 014-2026-EM raises that ceiling from 40 to 60 platforms, meaning a larger share of mid-sized exploration campaigns can now use the ~30 business-day DIA track instead of the ~90 business-day EIAsd track — cutting the permitting timeline for those projects by roughly two-thirds. The decree also streamlines the review process itself: it sets clearer deadlines for opinion-issuing entities and eliminates duplicate observation rounds between evaluating agencies, and allows MINEM to notify applicants of agency observations even when an opinion-issuing entity's own report is late.

Downstream implications

• Faster exploration-capex cycle: mid-sized exploration campaigns (41-60

platforms) that previously required the 90-day EIAsd now qualify for the 30-day DIA — a meaningful reduction in time-to-drill for juniors and mid-caps active in Peru's copper belt.

• Consistent with 2026 MINEM deregulatory posture: pairs with

2026-02-04-us-peru-critical-minerals-mou and the broader Boluarte-era push to accelerate mining investment approvals as Peru competes with Chile and Ecuador for exploration capital amid softer global copper capex.

• Priority chokepoint country: Peru is the world's #2 copper producer;

faster exploration permitting compounds with existing FDI-facilitation instruments (e.g. 2024-10-29-peru-ds-020-2024-em-mining-border-zone-fdi) as part of the domestic-regulatory pillar of Peru's mining-investment architecture.

Open questions

• Whether MINEM will publish updated guidance clarifying which pending

applications (already filed under the old 40-platform DIA ceiling) can be amended to the new 60-platform threshold without restarting the process.

• Whether the tightened agency-review deadlines are enforced in practice, or

whether opinion-issuing entities (ANA, SERNANP, SERFOR, etc.) continue to be a de facto bottleneck regardless of the nominal timeline.

• Scale of the practical effect: how many currently-pending or near-term

exploration projects fall in the 41-60 platform band this threshold change newly captures.