LIMA, May 3 (Reuters) - Peru's dented mining mojo, hit

by years of political turmoil in the Andean country, is being

buoyed by strong copper prices and a bullish outlook they will

rise further, helping lure back investor interest, the country's

mining minister said on Friday.

"The price of copper is a great attraction," Romulo Mucho,

told Reuters in an interview at his office, a reference to

prices that hit two-year peaks of $10,208 a metric ton this

week, close to the record high of $10,845 in March 2022.

Goldman Sachs earlier in the day hiked its year-end price

target to $12,000 per ton, from $10,000 previously, citing the

copper market's path into scarcity and expectations of a larger

deficit of the key metal needed for electrification.

Mucho said that the trend was helping salve mining

companies' caution in the country, the world's no. 2 exporter

that has struggled to fend off a challenge from rival producer

Congo as incoming mining investment has dwindled.

The minister added he had met with executives from Newmont ( NEM )

, Teck Resources ( TECK ), Hudbay Minerals ( HBM ),

Antofagasta Minerals and others in recent months, who

had shown interest in new ventures and operational mines.

"Most of the CEOs I talked to asked what projects there are

and how they can get involved," Mucho said, blaming political

uncertainty under former governments for hurting the sector.

Peru has had half a dozen presidents in the last six years.

"Confidence is being recovered."

Peru expects to produce some 3 million tons of copper this

year, up from 2.75 million last year, a goal Mucho stuck by,

though he added production from protest-hit Las Bambas, owned by

China's MMG Ltd ( MMLTF ), was key to hitting the target.