Mining Intelligence and News
Peru

La Arena Sulphide expansion Project

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePreliminary Economic Assessment
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Copper
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotWhile both the La Arena Mine and the La Arena II Project occur within the overall La Arena property, they are stand-alone projects and independent of each other. The La Arena II Project would not be an expansion of the current operation; rather it would be a separate operation constructed at the end of the La Arena Mine life. There are no shared facilities between the La Arena Mine and the proposed La Arena II Project except for the existing ADR plant, which would be used to recover gold from the oxide portion of La Arena II, and the assay laboratory, which would be relocated and expanded for use at the La Arena II Project.
Related AssetLa Arena

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Pan American Silver Corp. 100 % Indirect
Pan American holds a 100% interest in La Arena II, an undeveloped copper-gold project adjacent to its La Arena gold mine.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Porphyry

Summary:

Two types of mineralized deposits are recognized at the La Arena property – high sulfidation epithermal gold deposits (La Arena mine) and porphyry-hosted copper-gold deposits (La Arena II project).

In porphyry deposits, the sulfide ore minerals are dominantly structurally-controlled, with most mineralization occurring as close-spaced and cross-cutting vein stockwork, vein arrays, fractures, breccias and disseminations. In the hypogene portions of copper porphyry deposits, the copper occurs predominantly as chalcopyrite; other important copper ore minerals may include bornite and enargite. Supergene copper mineralization is generally dominated by chalcocite and lesser covellite.

Porphyry-hosted Copper-Gold Mineralization
Copper-gold mineralization is associated with phyllic (quartz-sericite) and potassic (secondary biotite + magnetite + potassium feldspar) alterations, which is dominated principally by pyrite and chalcopyrite with lesser amounts of bornite, covellite, chalcocite and molybdenite. Mineral zoning from surface downwards below the oxidized cap is typically about 40 to 50 meters for the zone of secondary enrichment (chalcocite + covellite ± copper oxides) and ten to 40 meters for the mixed oxide-sulfide transitional zone (chalcocite + chalcopyrite ± covellite). The top of the primary sulfide mineralized zone (chalcopyrite ± bornite) which predominates at La Arena is typically located at depths in excess of 100 meters from the surface.

The copper-gold porphyry at La Arena II comprises an elongated mineralized body approximately 1,400 meters in length (oriented northwest-southeast) and 200 to 400 meters wide. Mineralization occurs as disseminations along hairline fractures as well as within larger veins. Mineralization has been identified by drilling to depths of 1,000 meters below the surface which shows the porphyry to be narrowing, but with no decrease in copper and gold grades.

Sulfide mineralization consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite, with accessory pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, arsenopyrite, marcasite and rutile. Very fine (~25 microns) particles of native gold have been observed. The FPA-2 intrusion has the most abundant copper and gold mineralization that is associated with phyllic (quartz-sericite) and potassic (secondary biotite, magnetite, K feldspar) alteration with copper grades ranging from nil to locally greater than one percent; gold grades range from nil to locally greater than one gram per tonne. Lower grade copper gold mineralization is related to the intra mineral FPA-3 intrusion, which locally contains copper grades up to 0.5 percent and gold grades up to 0.5 grams per tonne.

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

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Gold Metal in doré koz 574
Gold Metal in concentrate koz 2,623
Gold Payable metal koz 1423,197
Copper Concentrate kt 8,807
Copper Metal in concentrate M lbs 2004,309

Operational metrics

Metrics
Daily processing capacity 80,000 t *
Annual mining rate 132 Mt *
Plant annual capacity 28.8 Mt *
Stripping / waste ratio 2.79 *
Waste tonnes, LOM 1,911,466 kt *
Ore tonnes mined, LOM 685,961 kt *
Total tonnes mined, LOM 2,597,427 kt *
Tonnes processed, LOM 685,961 kt *
* According to 2018 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Copper USD 1.55 / lb *  
Cash costs Gold USD 600 / oz *  
Assumed price Copper USD 3.3 / lb *  
Assumed price Gold USD 1,300 / oz *  
* According to 2018 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

Currency2018
OP mining costs ($/t mined) USD 1.33 *  
OP mining costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2018 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
G&A costs $M USD 586.2
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Income Taxes $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Net Income (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 0% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 0% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 11, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 11, 2024
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Aerial view:

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