Every year, thousands of climbers, hikers and other tourists flock to this central Andean town to immerse themselves in mountain scenery studded with 50 peaks higher than 18,000 feet. Mining companies have been gravitating here, too. Though small and mid-sized mines have operated in the area for a century and a half, a new generation of large-scale mines is opening to tap rich deposits of gold, silver, zinc and copper. Whether the trend will continue is open to question, particularly following the recent corruption scandal that forced Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to call new elections. In the mining sector, as in others, investor confidence has been shaken. But due to Fujimori’s aggressive, pro-investment policies, mining over the past 10 years has become... [Log in to read more]