Ore from underground mines have recently been - and will continue to be - the main source of feed for the El Peñón mill. All underground mining operations are carried out by Yamana, while the open pit mining operations, representing only a very small proportion of the production over the LOM, are carried out by a contractor.
The El Peñón mine (El Peñón) is an underground and open-pit gold-silver mine located in the Atacama Region of Chile, approximately 165 km southeast of the city of Antofagasta.
The major assets and facilities associated with the mining operations at El Peñón are
listed as follows:
• Mine and mill infrastructure including office buildings, shops, laboratories, stockpiles, tailing storage facility, and equipment.
• Campsite/housing facilities
• Facilities providing basic infrastructure to the mine, such as access roads, electric power distribution systems connected to national power grid, water treatment and supply and sewage treatment.
• Underground infrastructure including portals, access ramps, ventilation raises, maintenance shops, and mobile fleet equipment.
• The open-pit infrastructure including haulage roads, ramps, and mobile fleet equipment.
Ore from underground mines have recently been—and will continue to be—the main source of feed for the El Peñón mill. Ore is sourced from one small active open pit mine (Chiquilla Chica) and from five of the seven major underground mining zones.