Silvercorp Metals is advancing development of the El Domo (Curipamba) project, with production planned to start in 2027. The project will then become Ecuador’s third industrial mine and a milestone for the country’s metal mining industry.

The project’s capital expenditure is US$284 million. Preliminary work has now been completed, including site preparation for the processing plant, a 5,000-square-meter run-of-mine stockpile area, a construction camp, and internal roads, including the road to the sedimentation treatment area.

At the same time, the company is advancing the procurement of major equipment, consolidating the project’s physical and logistical foundations.

Since January 2025, China Railway 14th Bureau Group has been carrying out the earthworks package, which includes a temporary camp, the initial dam for the tailings storage facility (TSF), a weathered rock waste dump (SWD), non-contact water channels, internal haul roads, and site preparation for the processing plant and permanent camp. Designed by Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB) at a cost of US$47.5 million, the package forms the foundation of the mining infrastructure.

The second part of the works is being undertaken by China Railway 19th Bureau Group, covering initial mining operations, site clearing, and the gradual raising of the tailings dam using mined waste material. With a total cost of US$39 million, it ensures continuity in TSF construction and prepares the project for the production phase.

In the third phase, Yantai Jinpeng Mining Machinery completed the detailed process flow diagram and equipment selection for the processing plant, which will require a US$33 million investment.

Silvercorp Metals plans to begin construction of the transmission line in June 2026, with a 12-month construction period, while a 14-megawatt diesel generator set will be delivered in December to ensure power supply during plant commissioning in July 2027.

The Curipamba deposit contains copper, gold, zinc and silver. The mine will initially operate as an open pit, with a subsequent transition to underground mining planned. Its expected mine life is 10 years, with average annual production of 24 million pounds of copper equivalent.

According to the 2021 feasibility study, the open-pit operation has proven and probable reserves totaling 6.48 million tons, with a copper grade of 1.93% and a gold grade of 2.52 g/t, along with silver, zinc and lead.

Progress on the contracted work is shaping the El Domo medium-sized mining project into an important milestone for consolidating Ecuador’s metal mining industry. To date, the country has only two large industrial mines in operation: the Fruta del Norte gold mine and the Mirador copper mine.

Production planned to begin in 2027 will demonstrate the ability to execute a medium-sized project in a challenging environment, where operators have had to confront strong social opposition and a series of legal proceedings in recent years that sought to block its development.

Completion of the El Domo project will mark an important milestone in the diversification of the country’s mining sector and will boost confidence in the viability of medium-sized projects.