The Cerro Verde mine is a porphyry copper deposit that has oxide and secondary sulfide mineralization, and primary sulfide mineralization. The predominant oxide copper minerals are brochantite, chrysocolla, malachite and copper “pitch.” Chalcocite and covellite are the most important secondary copper sulfide minerals. Chalcopyrite and molybdenite are the dominant primary sulfides.

The Cerro Verde mining district comprises a copper-molybdenum porphyry cluster that includes a series of deposits (CV, SR, and CN) which are related to calc-alkaline intrusions (dacite to monzonite porphyry) and quartz-tourmaline hydrothermal breccia bodies. In general, these deposits are low grade and high tonnage, genetically related to igneous epizonal intrusions and characterized by multiple events from a parental magmatic chamber, which are distributed along the Incapuquio fault system corridor.

The Cerro Verde mine encompasses the Cerro Verde (CV), Santa Rosa (SR), and Cerro Negro (CN) ore deposits.

The CV and SR deposits are located in the core of a gently folded west-northwest striking basement- cored anticline or southwest-tilted structural block. The anticlinal axis parallels the Tinajones fault system, a regional north 60-degree west to east-west striking fault zone/lineament. The influence of this structural zone is reflected in the copper grade distribution at depth.

A series of parallel north 60-degree east, steeply northwest dipping faults ........

Cerro Verde is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex that has been in operation since 1976.

The available fleet consists of fifty-four 300-metric-ton haul trucks and ninety-three 245-metric-ton haul trucks (21 of which are currently on standby) and three 363-metric-ton leased haul trucks loaded by thirteen electric shovels with bucket sizes ranging in size from 33 to 57 cubic meters and two hydraulic shovels with a bucket size of 21 cubic meters (both of which are currently on standby). This fleet is capable of moving an average of approximately 970,000 metric tons of material per day.

The highest bench elevation is 2,810 meters above sea level and the ultimate pit bottom is expected to be 1,523 meters above sea level.

Haul roads and geomechanical catchment berms or step-ins, in conjunction with the recommended inter- ramp slope angles, determine the overall pit slope angles for the design. Inter-ramp slope angles account for differences in rock quality and can include single or double bench designs and various catch bench widths. Thirteen pit slope domains have been defined at the pit areas, each with different design inter-ramp slope angles. The inter-ramp slope angles vary between 38 to 52 degrees and bench face angles vary between 68 to 80 degrees.

The final mine design for the CV and SR open-pit is approximately 2.7 kilometers in width (northeast-southwest) and 5.0 kilometers in length (northwest-southeast). The expe ........

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Cerro Verde’s operation consists of two concentrating facilities with a total milling design capacity of 360,000 metric tons of ore per day and SX/EW leaching facilities. Leach copper production is derived from a 39,000-metric-ton-perday crushed leach facility and a 100,000-metric-ton-per-day ROM leach system. This SX/EW leaching operation has a capacity of approximately 200 million pounds of copper per year.

Ore can be directed through hydrometallurgical or concentrating facilities. The hydrometallurgical operation consists of crushed and ROM leach pads, stacking equipment for ore placement, a SX plant consisting of five SX trains, and an EW facility with two cell lines. The hydrometallurgical process produces a high-quality copper cathode.

Primary and certain secondary sulfide ores are processed in the concentrators, which produce copper and molybdenum concentrates. The C1 concentrator was commissioned in late 2006, with a design capacity of 108,000 metric tons ........