Hochschild Mining Co. plans to increase the life of its Inmaculada mining operation by 10 years. This was indicated by Ignacio Bustamante, CEO and director of Hochschild Mining, who presented “Hochschild Mining: Present and Future,” during the Business Breakfasts IIMP organized by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP).
The executive said that, last year, Inmaculada achieved a record production of more than 251,000 ounces (oz) of gold equivalent, at a total production cost of $731/oz. However, he noted that the most important fact was the discovery of an additional 1.3 million oz, which allowed the company to make the decision to extend the years of operation.
“Everything depends on the plant capacity and new processing technologies (ore sorting),” he said. “We can select the mineral better and have a product with better ore grade. This would shorten mine life a bit, but it would be more profitable.”
Bustamante also said this finding was due to the start of the first exploration campaign undertaken by Hochschild in the east of the Angela vein, where 17 structures were found.
“The geological approach for this year is to continue evaluating these structures, as well as others to the north, south and west of the Angela vein,” he said.