The Fraser Institute's 2020 ranking showed that Peru has regressed not only in attractiveness for mining investment, but mainly in terms of best practices for mining potential; something that is a cause for concern considering that Peru is recognized worldwide for its geological wealth.

In this sense, events like the 12th International Congress of Prospectors and Explorers are oriented to highlight the advances in the exploration projects portfolio of Peru and other countries in the region, as well as the set of measures and plans aimed at emphasizing Peru's status as a mining power.

According to the Fraser ranking, Peru, which ranked 24th in 2019, fell to 34th in 2020 in terms of investment attractiveness, considering a total of 77 mining jurisdictions included in the ranking.

However, the biggest setback occurred in the mining potential best practices, dropping from 12th, in 2019, to 30th place in 2020. That implied a drop of 18 places in one year; while the best position in the five-year period 2016-2020 occurred in 2018 when it ranked 8th.

Making progress in the objective of allowing national professionals to certify mineral resources and reserves is an important step in the task of attending an important demand in the initial mining activity. Hence the importance of having personalities linked to the International Committee for Resources and Reserves Reporting (CRIRSCO) in proEXPLO 2021.

CRIRSCO is a globally recognized organization, supported by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) as the entity that represents the mining industry in matters related to the classification and reporting of mineral assets.

"The key to achieving one of the mining industry's main ambitions is for Peru to become a member of CRIRSCO and thus encourage national professionals to certify mineral resources and reserves. Under this vision, this will be one of the central themes of the 12th International Congress of Prospectors and Explorers - proEXPLO 2021", explained the congress organizers.

On the other hand, proEXPLO 2021 will not only focus on the importance of exploration activity or the discovery of new deposits, but will also highlight the role of women. This is a step forward in highlighting the contribution of women to the Peruvian mining exploration industry, in a context where the international trend is to emphasize the work of women in economic activities.

On the other hand, the main themes of this proEXPLO 2021 edition 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: from exploration to mine, oriented to present the engineering processes that turn discoveries into profitable mining operations.