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Peru

Santander Complex

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusCare and Maintenance
Commodities
  • Zinc
  • Lead
  • Silver
  • Copper
Mining Method
  • Avoca
  • Bench & Fill
  • Room-and-pillar
Backfill type ... Lock
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SnapshotThe Santander mine complex comprises a historically mined open pit and underground workings (Magistral mine).

Cerro de Pasco Resources was plans to develop the Santander Pipe orebody by linking the existing Magistral underground mine.

Santander mine has operated until end the of June 2023 when the Company announced that the Santander Operations would undergo a temporary curtailment due to macro-economic pressures affecting zinc price.

As of June 30, 2024, the Santander Mine was under care and maintenance.
Related AssetSantander Pipe Project

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
FIC03 Fondo de Inversión Privado 100 % Indirect
On Sept. 03, 2024, Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with FIC03 Fondo de Inversión Privado (“FIC03”), a Peruvian investment company controlled by Finanzas e Inversiones Corporativas (“FIC”). FIC specializes in managing alternative and distressed investments across various industries. Under the Agreement, the Company has agreed to sell its Santander Mine in Peru to FIC03.

Pursuant to the Agreement which is effective as of August 29, 2024, CDPR has sold the shares of its Peruvian subsidiary Cerro de Pasco Resources Subsidiaria del Peru S.A.C., that holds the interest in the Santander mine.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Carbonate replacement
  • Skarn
  • Intrusion related

Summary:

The characteristics and setting of the mineralization at the Santander Property are consistent with intrusion related, carbonate-hosted zinc-lead (copper, silver) deposits (Megaw, Balton and Falce 1996; Megaw 1998; Meinert, Dippert, and Nicolescu 2005), also known as CRD or hightemperature carbonate (HTC) deposit types.

The Santander mine is located within what is referred to as the Miocene metallogenic belt of central and northern Perú. It extends for at least 900 km along the Andean Western Cordillera and adjacent Altiplano and is characterized by numerous hydrothermal mineral deposits that formed about 20 Ma ago. Mineralization is interpreted to have occurred during a pre-lower Miocene Quechua I compressive event and spanned later Quechua II tectonism. Mineral deposits are predominantly hosted by shelf carbonates and other sedimentary rocks of Late Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age, and by volcanic and intrusive rocks mainly of Neogene age. Base metal and precious metal mineralization was intimately associated in time and space with the eruption of calc-alkali volcanic rocks of intermediate composition, and the emplacement of mineralogically and geochemically similar, dykes and stocks.

The property is underlain by a package of Cretaceous carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks that were tightly folded into a series of northwest-trending anticlines and synclines. The lower, predominantly clastic part of the section was thrust over the mainly carbonate-rich upper portion (the favourable host rocks) along a regional, north to northwest-trending thrust fault, the Santander regional fault which is approximately parallel to the fold axes with a strike of 150º west, and dips moderately to the west. Based on regional stratigraphic reconstruction, it has an estimated minimum displacement of at least 1,000 metres, and clearly has a control over the mineralization of the Magistral deposits.

Magistral mineralization is hosted in limestone of the Chulec formation, and their hanging-wall or upper limits broadly correspond to a siliciclastic facies section of the Chimú formation, often in fault-contact. The lower limit or footwall of the mineralization is defined as the base of the last significant sulphide horizon and is gradational. Narrow, but very high-grade veins occur perpendicular to the main Magistral bodies and occasionally present massive sulphide replacement in between the veins; as in the cases of Rosa, Fatima South and Fatima North zones. In the Magistral deposits, the base metal grade increases with depth. Mineral system analysis suggests a geological setting in the upper mid-levels of a large to very large (intrusionrelated) carbonate replacement system with very significant depth, and a lateral potential remaining open for exploration.

At the Santander pipe, skarn alteration and associated sulphide mineralization were mined to a vertical depth of 480 metres below surface, with historical boreholes indicating mineralization continues at least another 250 m vertically. In detail, skarn mineralization forms a circular, massive, plug-like body in the massive-bedded Jumasha limestone formation to depths of approximately 250 m below surface prior to forming more discrete skarn hosted replacements in the underlying interbedded Chulec limestone formation to 480 m vertical depth.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

In 2023, production at the Santander mine was reported until the end of June, when Cerro de Pasco announced a temporary curtailment of the Santander operations.
CommodityProductUnits202320222021202020192018201720162015
Zinc Payable metal M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7157536154
Zinc Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe8265616758
Lead Payable metal M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe127.9111930
Lead Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe127.6111725
Silver Payable metal koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe6005006038141,056
Zinc Equivalent Payable metal lbs 69,396,34593,008,559

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe775,088 t750,970 t681,785 t716,893 t722,360 t
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe875,680 t803,265 t839,546 t863,307 t778,151 t
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,000 t2,000 t2,000 t2,000 t
Daily mining capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,000 t of ore

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2023202220212020201920182017
Site cash costs (produced) Zinc Equivalent USD 0.49 / lb  
Total cash costs Zinc Equivalent USD 0.76 / lb  
Total cash costs Zinc USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 0.76 / lb **   0.72 / lb **   0.67 / lb **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Zinc USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 99 / lb **   0.99 / lb **   0.95 / lb **  
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency2019201820172016
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units2023202220212020201920182017
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 16.5   15.5   15.1  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 69.5   65.2   72.2  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe 23.1  
EBIT M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 13.7   -72.4   22.8  
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 24.4   -61.5   34.5  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 12, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 4, 2024

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2020
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2019
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2018
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2017
...... Subscription required 2016

Aerial view:

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