Peru Mining Project Update

Peru has a large project pipeline of mining projects totaling approx. USD$58bn. It has been a focus market for mining suppliers for the last few years due to the fact that the local miners are open to new technologies and it is still relatively open in terms of competition.

For mining suppliers, the country has a good mixture of underground and open pit mines which will require a significant amount of technology, equipment, and services to support their growth over the next 10 years. There are 7 projects that are set to enter construction in 2022.

Pampacancha

• Hudbay Minerals successfully completed consultations with local communities to develop the Pampacancha pit at its Constancia copper mine in Peru’s Cusco region, allowing it to move ahead with a US$70mn investment in the project earlier this year.
• Pampacancha is a high-grade satellite copper deposit, discovered in 2011 at the Constancia open pit mine in the Cusco region in Peru’s southern highlands, just 4km from the Constancia plant.
• According to data from Hudbay, Constancia is the lowest-cost open pit copper sulfide mine in South America.
• Mining has already started as of October 2021. Planned extraction of the satletite pit will have an estimated copper production is 59,000t/y.

Shouxin Expansion

• US$140mn expansion project that will process Shougang’s tailings to obtain iron, copper and zinc concentrates.
• The Shougang project is a 51:49 JV between Baiyin Nonferrous Group and Shougang Hierro Perú. The project is located in San Juan de Marcona district, Nazca province, in Peru’s Ica department, approximately 540km south of Lima.
• Shougang Hierro Perú, controlled by China’s Shougang Group, produces 98.2% of Peru’s iron
• Shouxin construction progress was 23% in August, while operations will start in July 2022.
• The expansion will increase 100% the current processing capacity from 8Mt/year to 16Mt/year and would extend its operation until 2037.
• It is estimated to produce annually 400,000t of iron, 18,000t of copper and 10,000t of zinc.

Newmont – Yanacocha Sulfuros

• The Yanacocha Sulphide project would extend the mines life beyond 2040 in a first phase development, with second and third phases having the potential to extend life for multiple decades.
• The expansion cost will be USD$2b with the first phase of the development focuses on sulphide deposits and an integrated processing circuit, including an autoclave to process gold, copper and silver feedstock
• Production is estimated to reach around 500,000oz/y of gold equivalent.
• In the latest news, Newmont has postponed the financing decision for the Yanacocha Sulfuros copper-gold project to the end of 2021 or into the second half of 2022.
• In the meantime, the company will invest US$500mnto advance the detailed engineering, long-term purchases, earthworks and construction.

Bear Creek – Corani Deposit

• Bear Creek’s wholly owned Corani deposit is one of the largest fully permitted silver-polymetallic deposits in the world.
• Bear Creek has obtained all infrastructure permits for its US$579mn Corani silver project in Puno. 
• The project has been granted all key permits, including an approved environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), construction permits and accreditation of water availability. It was also the first industrial project in Peru to undergo the state-run Consulta Previa process for which it received 100% community support.
• Corani’s annual production will be 110,000t of lead and silver, and 80,000t of zinc and silver over a 15-year mine life.
• The Corani open pit mine is being developed using conventional drilling and blasting. The mining plan includes the delivery of approximately 7.88Mt of ore a year (22,500t a day) to the crushing unit.
• The silver-lead-zinc deposit will be accessed through a new 63km-long road, which will be connected to the Interoceanic Highway that further connects to the Port of Matarani.
• A construction date has not been set but financing is already in place so the announcement should be soon.

Buenaventura –  San Gabriel 

• Located in the District of Ichuña, in the Province of General Sánchez Cerro, Region of Moquegua.
• The project is expected to process some 3,000t/d of ore. Annual production will be 120,000-150,000oz of gold.
• The San Gabriel project is awaiting the last construction license to start operations, with the expectation of starting construction in the first half of the year 2022.
• In the short term, it is already building dams and related infrastructure that will be needed.
• The company is currently optimising the project. It says that it intends to optimise the process plant by improving metallurgical recovery, making more efficient use of its equipment and infrastructure, and relocating the area for thickening and filtering tailings, among other objectives. It also plans to use solar energy on the project and have a ‘much more electric mine’.

Hochschild Mining –  Minera Ares

• Minera Ares’ US$136mn Inmaculada optimization underground operation has 4Mt of mineral resources with content of 6.5g/t of gold.
• The project in Ayacucho region will produce 250,000oz annually and extend the useful life of its most modern mine, “Inmaculada (Ayacucho)”, until 2041.
• The second modification of the detailed Environmental Impact Study presented to regulatorSenace was approved in September.
• Construction is expected in 2022.

Las Bambas – Chalcobamba

• US$130mn Chalcobamba copper project in Apurímac region is challenging because of local conflicts around the transportation of its concentrates.
• Chalcobamba is important because it complements Ferrobamba‘s resources.
• The production stage of the Chalcobamba pit will run from 2022 to 2033. During its 12-year useful life, a total of 210 million tons of ore will be extracted from Chalcobamba, and a total of 259 million tons of waste.
• Due to the entry of a new pit in the operation, Las Bambas also plans to expand the capacity of the processing plant from 145,000 Tn / d to 152,250 Tn / d and introduce improvements and new equipment.
• the company will incorporate into the operation of the Chalcobamba pit an aggregate crushing system and storage stockpile so that the Chalcobamba operation has an independent crushing system and does not depend on the existing system in Ferrobamba.
• Ross Carroll, the CFO of Las Bambas controllerMMG, said recently that developing Chalcobamba with the government and the Huancuire community remains a priority for this year.

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