A senior executive of China’s Zijin Mining Group said on Tuesday that the company is seeking new opportunities in Peru and plans to invest about US$1.5 billion to expand its La Arena copper mine and increase copper output in the South American country.

Luo Yuchuan, CEO of Zijin Mining’s La Arena mine, told Reuters that although Peru’s political situation is “quite unique,” the company believes the country has maintained fiscal and financial stability and has significant investment potential in the mining sector.

“That is why we believe Peru is a good place for mining investment, and that is also why we continue to look for other projects to develop,” he said at a mining forum in Lima.

Zijin Mining acquired the La Arena copper-gold mine at the end of 2024 and plans to extend the mine’s life by 19 years.

Project basic information
The La Arena copper-gold mine is located in the La Libertad region of northern Peru (Sánchez Carrión Province), in the Andean porphyry Cu-Mo-Au metallogenic belt, at an altitude of 3,000–3,600 meters.

• Ownership: 100% held by Zijin Mining (acquisition completed on December 3, 2024, for US$245 million plus contingent payments).
• Mining rights: 25 mining concessions, covering an area of 33,140 hectares, valid permanently.

• Climate: average annual temperature 10.6°C, rainfall 1,124 mm.
• Transport: 175 km from Salaverry port and 150 km from the city of Trujillo, with direct road access; stable grid power supply.
• Deposit characteristics: a double-layer structure with gold in the upper part and copper below
  Southwest: high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposit (Phase I)
  Northeast: large porphyry copper-gold deposit (Phase II).

Phase I (operating gold mine)

• Status: open-pit plus heap leaching, producing about 3 tons of gold in 2024.
• Scale: processing 36,000 tons per day; proven and probable reserves of 22.6 million tons at a grade of 0.33 g/t, containing 8 tons of gold.
• Mine life: remaining service life of about 3 years.

Phase II (copper mine to be developed)

• Status: feasibility study stage, with open-pit plus flotation planned.

• Plan: annual processing capacity of 33 million tons, with a 3-year construction period and a 19-year production period.
• Capacity: after reaching full production, annual output of 100,000 tons of copper and 3.8 tons of gold.

Resource status (as of June 30, 2024)

Phase II copper-gold resources (measured + indicated + inferred):

• Copper: 2.785 million tons, average grade 0.334%.
• Gold: 196.5 tons, average grade 0.236 g/t.
• Supplement (Zijin official website): copper 2.7751 million tons @ 0.36%; gold 187.62 tons @ 0.24 g/t.

Resource characteristics:

• Medium grade and large scale, typical characteristics of a porphyry copper deposit.
• Strong prospecting potential in the metallogenic belt, with ample room for reserve growth.
• Concentrated ore bodies and shallow burial depth, favorable economics for open-pit mining.