LIMA, PERU - Peru's mining sector has around US$ 8 billion worth of mining and infrastructure-related projects in the pipeline for the next three years, the country’s Deputy Energy and Mines Minister, Guillermo Shinno, said Monday.

Speaking to Andina news agency, he noted the key stand-out initiatives include the US$ 1 billion Tia Maria project in the southern Arequipa region and the US$ 4.8 billion Toromocho project in the central Andean region of Junin.

“The mining boom is not over”, Shinno said, “There is the US$ 3-billion expansion and the modernization program of the Toquepala copper mine in the southern Tacna region within the strong pipeline framework".

In his interview with the state-funding agency on Monday, the senior government executive went on to point out the Toromocho project has already started testing and it is expected to be fully operational in the coming months.

Likewise, the Deputy Minister stressed that Las Bambas copper mine is due to kick off operation by 2015, while the first stage of the project to update and expand Cerro Verde’s facilities will be also finished.

"These factors are likely to allow Peru to regain the title of world’s second leading copper producer," he stated.