Newmont Corp will continue with a US$2 billion expansion of its Yanacocha sulphide project in Peru, Reuters reported CEO Tom Palmer as saying at a Lima mining conference.

The expansion will expand the mine life beyond 2040 by another thirty or forty years, Palmer said last year.

A formal decision will be made later this year.

Newmont now fully owns Yanacocha, after buying out Buenaventura's stake earlier this year.

The mining company is also looking to expand into copper mining at Yanacocha, which contains copper reserves.

Investor confidence in Peru has been rocked in recent months, with two of Peru's largest copper producing mines - MMG's Las Bambas and Southern Copper's Cuajone mine - halted by community protests.

Newmont may also reconsider moving forward with its Conga gold project in the country. Community opposition led to the cancellation of the project in 2011.

"There is the opportunity to one day return to Conga," Palmer said, adding that stakeholders would need to support the project.

Peru is the second-largest copper producer in the world, and a major gold producer.

The country was temporarily suspended as a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) for failing to submit its 2019 National Transparency Report.

Peru's government has attempted to mitigate community disputes with mining companies, with minimal success.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Oscar Graham said the country would increase public spending on mining areas to placate community members.