Metminco's (LON:MNC,ASX:MNC) main project - Los Calatos - in Peru has been designated a "Project of National Interest" by the country's government.
The firm believes the move will assist it in obtaining relevant surface rights across the copper and moly project in southern Peru.
Metminco's subsidiary - Minera CN SAC - can now acquire surface title for the tenements on state-owned lands directly from the government - as opposed to by a public auction.
"This designation only applies in circumstances where the project's feasibility and economic benefit for the country can be demonstrated to the Peruvian government," said Metminco.
Los Calatos project is found in desert near the coast at a height of around 2800-3000 metres. It is 80km southeast of the city of Arequipa, or around 300km by road.
The port of Ilo lies around 100km south of the project.
The company is currently carrying out a 50,000m diamond drill program designed to infill and extend the current resources at Los Calatos which contain around 4.7 million tonnes of copper equivalent(at a cut-off grade of 0.2 percent Cu and CuEq in-situ assuming a ratio of Mo/Cu prices of 5), or over 10 billion CuEq pounds.
The drilling will also test a number of new targets identified by surface geochemical sampling.
Meanwhile in Chile, the firm has begun a drilling program of 16,000 metres of RC drilling and 12,000 metres of diamond drilling at the Mollacas, Vallecillo and Camaron projects - expected to be finished by the end of the year.
The drilling at Vallecillo and Camaron will be preceded by IP and ground magnetic geophysical surveys to help refine drill targets.
Last week the company revealed it had entered an agreement to buy 100 percent of the La Piedra copper,gold,moly project in Chile.
The option agreement for the project in the V region of the country provides Metminco time to evaluate the prospectivity of the area until it expires on 30 June 2015, it had said.