LIMA (Reuters) -A Peruvian congressional committee on Tuesday approved a bill to extend temporary permits for informal miners until the end of 2027, a move that came as more than a thousand miners protested outside the legislature against the permits’ looming expiration.

The bill will now be debated in a full plenary session of Congress for final approval. The program, known as REINFO, which grants a temporary legal status, has already been extended several times and is currently scheduled to expire in December.

Renewed demonstrations broke out earlier in the day by miners who argue that government efforts to push them toward full formalization of their claims are too complex and costly.

Many miners, most of whom extract gold, are seeking up to five more years to transition out of the t

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