Newmont unit plans Peru pit changes to extract 19.66 Mt of ore

Minera Yanacocha, a subsidiary of Newmont, filed the eighth technical supporting report (ITS) for the second environmental impact assessment modification at its Cajamarca operation with Peru's environmental certification agency Senace. The company aims to benefit from higher gold prices by mining low-grade areas that are now economically viable.

The document proposes a reconfigured mining plan in the Katia and Yanacocha Pinos zones within the Yanacocha Pit Stage 2. For the Katia zone, Yanacocha projects extracting 13.34 million tonnes of ore and 429,000 tonnes of waste rock. For Yanacocha Pinos, it forecasts extracting 6.32 million tonnes of ore and 1.48 million tonnes of waste rock.

The extracted ore from both areas will be processed at the Carachugo Stage 14 and La Quinua Stage 8 leach pads. A total of 1.9 million tonnes of waste rock generated for 2027 will be placed in the authorized Carachugo Stage 3 and La Quinua waste dumps. Total authorized capacity for the Yanacocha Pit Stage 2 will remain unchanged at 156.024 million tonnes of total material.

The technical design includes 17 benches of 10 meters in Katia and 19 benches of 10 meters in Yanacocha Pinos, remaining above the minimum approved elevation of 3,600 meters above sea level. While mining in Katia and Yanacocha Pinos will extend to 2027, the overall operational mine life approved for Yanacocha Pit Stage 2 remains in place until 2040.