Yanacocha is an epithermal type deposit of high sulfidation hosted in volcanic rock formations. Gold is associated with ironoxides and pyrite.

The Yanacocha property consists of the following open pit mines: the La Quinua Complex, Cerro Yanacocha, the Carachugo Complex and Maqui Maqui.

The Yanacocha gold district is a 10x4km zone of altered rocks within a belt of tertiary volcanics that extends the whole length of Peru. Andesitic domes and dome complexes have been silicified and leached by epithermal gold-bearing solutions in at least nine distinct deposits. The mineralised sequences, which can also contain significant amounts of silver, are flanked by extensive argillitic alteration, and subsequent events have created siliceous breccia pipes with localised high gold grades.

The Yanacocha property began production in 1993 and consists of the following open pit mines: the La Quinua Complex, the Yanacocha Complex, the Carachugo Complex.

The La Quinua Complex is currently mining material from the La Quinua Sur and the Tapado Oeste Layback and is scheduled to finish mining operations in 2021.

The Yanacocha Complex mines material from the Yanacocha Layback and Yanacocha Pinos, which are scheduled to finish mining operations in 2021. The Yanacocha Complex began operations in 1997 and has had limited mining operations in recent years.

The Carachugo leach pad processes oxide material from the Quecher Main project, which is a new open pit within the existing footprint of Yanacocha. This project went into commercial production in October 2019 and will extend the life of the Yanacocha operation to 2027.

Yanacocha’s available mining fleet consists of two shovels, four excavators, one loader and 31 haul trucks, each with 233-tonne payload.

Yanacocha has three processing concessions from Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines for its processing facilities: Cerro Yanacocha (La Quinua and Yanacocha leach pads, La Quinua and Yanacocha Norte gold recovery plants and Yanacocha Gold Mill), Yanacocha (Carachugo and Maqui Maqui leach pads and Pampa Larga gold recovery plant) and China Linda (non-metallic processing concessions). Yanacocha’s gold processing plants are located adjacent to the solution storage ponds and are used to process goldbearing solutions from Yanacocha’s leach pads through a network of solution-pumping facilities. The Yanacocha Gold Mill processes high-grade gold ore to produce a gold-bearing solution for treatment at the La Quinua processing plant. The Yanacocha Gold Mill processes between 5.5 and 6.0 million tonnes per year.