Engineer Henry Luna, Ingemmet's President before Susana Vilca, was interviewed by "Rumbo Minero" TV show because of his recent appointment as one of the Mining Council's members.
He didn't show any hesitation to talk about Falchani and the concessions issue PLU has faced in the last couple of years. Key takeaways from this interview include:
(1) He knows that the lithium footprint extends for a much bigger area than what is covered by falchani and the disputed surrounding concessions (ocacasa 4, chachaconiza, chachaconiza ii, huarituna ii and huarituna 3). Apparently this has been one of the reasons behind Ingemmet's lack of urgency in finding a solution to the concessions issue.
(2) Last year Ingemmet's main argument was "if Macusani Yellowcake is right then they will win in the Mining Council", and now their main argument is "If Macusani Yellowcake is right then they will win in the Judiciary".
The conversation about the Falchani project starts at 10:22:
(...) Oscar Diaz (OD): Henry, we don't want to run out of time, you know that time on television is scarce. I would like to touch on a point that has to do with the fact that Peru, and we have spoken about this several times, is a country blessed by the amount of minerals it has, isn't it? Chile would like to have everything that we have, not only copper, but zinc, silver, gold and, in recent years, the discovery, by the Falchani project of Macusani Yellowcake, of the largest lithium deposit in rock, is also an immense opportunity. Unfortunately, there have been disagreements with Ingemmet, which you have chaired, currently there are still with Susana Vilca ... it is a shame ... it is on the Judiciary, we hope it is resolved. But, what is the true potential that Peru has to exploit lithium?
Henry Luna (HL): Well, in this administration, over the past two years, we have done a national analysis of the lithium potential. We have not only focused on the Puno area, but we have also evaluated the north and center of the country, and as a result we have left two bulletins ready to be edited, which are linked to the lithium potential. And so we think that this potential that has already been identified in the Puno area, I think it is one of the most important worldwide in what is lithium in rocks. So I think that this activity could be developed, but the first thing that would be necessary is that the company that owns the lithium concessions tries to find investors to explore because so far a formal exploration process has not yet begun in that area to ratify the resources that...
OD: Sure, but if there are concessions in dispute with the State and it is in the Judiciary, obviously... you know perfectly well that it is very difficult to pass the hat around internationally because said dispute scares investors, that's why I said that it is a pity that the Government has not been able to handle this issue, isn't it?
HL: No, it is not ... on that subject ... of the problem that the company has is related to a small number of... that is, we are not talking about ...
OD: .... of all concessions.
HL: ... the great potential of lithium, but only about a small number of 32 concessions about which there was a discussion in the time of the engineer Oscar Bernuy (Ingemmet's President before Henry Luna) ... because the Company did not pay on time. So, according to the law, when it is not paid in a timely manner by June 30th for two consecutive years, the concessions expire, don't they? So these concessions fell in that process, but the company went to the Mining Council. The Mining Council could change what was resolved by Ingemmet, but it ratified it and now the third instance is the Judicial Power. Hopefully, if they have the necessary arguments, they can overturn these observations and can continue with this project. But as I mentioned to you, it is not a current impediment for the company to starting formal procedures for exploration activity, which is what we are interested in to confirm the lithium potential. (...)