LIMA - Thousands of small-scale miners in Peru blocked roads and camped outside Congress on Monday to demand extension of a programme that allows them to operate temporarily, but which authorities say has expanded illegal mining.

A government bill sent to Congress last week gave small-scale miners a six-month period to formalise their activities after the current programme expires on December 31, but miners say that is not enough time.

"We are asking for at least a two-year extension and for a new law that will allow us to complete our formalization," said the president of the National Confederation of Small and Artisanal Mining (Confemin), Maximo Becquer.

Hundreds have set up tents near Congress since last week and thousands of miners in uniforms and plastic helmets have blocked the main coastal highway in the southern regions of Ica and Arequipa, leaving hundreds of freight and passenger vehicles stuck for up to five kilometers.

The program, known as REINFO, started in 2012 and gave workers a temporary permit while they waited to be formalised. REINFO has been extended several times and currently has 85 000 registered artisanal miners, only about 20% of which have been formalised.

Many workers have used the temporary permit to mine in prohibited areas or third-party property without having to comply with labor or environmental regulations, according to authorities and private mining companies. Attacks on formal mines have left at least 30 dead in the past two years.

Peru produced 99.7-million grams of gold in 2023, a 2.8% year-on-year rise. According to the government, small artisanal mines extract around 40% of that, but small-scale mining groups put the figure at 50%.

"We are here sleeping in the open air and the government is not paying attention to us," said Nelson Calderón, a 45-year-old miner from the Andean region of Ayacucho who came to Lima to protest. "On December 31, REINFO will be canceled and where are we going to end up?"

Pedro Yaranga, an analyst specialiSing in social conflicts in Peru, said that there are strong competing interests between Congress and small-scale miners that could escalate.

"If this isn't resolved, it's going to be a timebomb," Yaranga said.