The 12th International Congress of Prospectors and Explorers (proEXPLO 2021), an event organized by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP), will be held from March 22 to 26. For this new edition, the Organizing Committee of proEXPLO 2021 -chaired by Eng. Enrique Garay-, agreed on the motto "Mineral Resources for a Sustainable Future" with the aim of emphasizing that in the future humanity will require minerals to create a cleaner world.

"Mining is a fundamental activity for the Peruvian economy and we mining companies are aware of the need to carry out our activities in an environmentally responsible context with a vision for the future, both for the communities in our areas of direct influence and for future generations," said Garay.

Exploration in Peru, which is generally carried out in areas far away from cities with many deficiencies, is an activity where, according to Garay, the geologist is in a certain way the "ambassador" of the mining company. That means that the geologist and his or her team are the first to establish relationships with the communities and plant the seed for a future relationship to hopefully find a deposit and make the relationship last.

"I think that companies have understood that this is the way to do business, to open doors and be new neighbors in a community, because when we arrive in a community, and this must be made very clear, we are the new neighbors, and we implement social responsibility policies; this is not only about generating jobs, but also sustainable development," said the president of proEXPLO 2021.

He also said that this year's edition will seek to continue strengthening the links between the academy, the industry and mining investors.

Currently, there are technologies that contribute to the exploration activity having a minimum impact on prospecting tasks. Eng. Carlos Urrea, member of the Organizing Committee of proEXPLO 2021, pointed out that there are technologies that allow accessing to faster sampling.

"In drilling, European technology is being used for directional drilling, which allows access to different targets inside the deposit to be drilled from very few drilling points. This makes it much easier in terms of time, deadline and budget," said Urrea.

On the other hand, the thematic axes of proEXPLO 2021 are:

• Innovation in exploration: new technological tools applicable to mining exploration will be presented and discussed.

• Exploration success stories: new deposits discovered in Peru and Latin America will be presented.

• Optimal transition: exploration to mine, oriented to present the engineering processes that turn discoveries into profitable mining operations.