El Porvenir
Mine
Zinc, Copper, Lead, Silver and Gold
Type
Underground Mine
Plant Capacity
6.5 ktpd
Ownership
83.48% (1)
Location
Peru
¹The ownership percentage is attributable to Nexa Resources.
The El Porvenir mine is an underground, polymetallic mine (located in the Cerro Pasco Complex) in the central Andes mountains region of Peru, specifically in the district of San Francisco de Asís de Yarusyacán, in the province of Pasco, Peru. The mine is situated at kilometer 340 of the Carretera Central Highway (Lima—Huánuco route), 13 km from the city of Cerro de Pasco. The mine is located in the Central Cordillera zone, which contains the communities of Parán, Lacsanga and Santo Domingo de Apache.
Operations began in 1949 and, in 2023, the El Porvenir mine produced approximately 55.8 thousand tonnes of zinc contained in concentrates, 0.4 thousand tonnes of copper contained in concentrates, 24.9 thousand tonnes of lead contained in concentrates, 4,270.5 thousand ounces of silver contained in concentrates and 8.7 thousand ounces of gold contained in concentrates. The ore is treated at a concentrate plant that has a processing capacity of 6.5 thousand tonnes of ore per day.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treated ore | kt | 2,220 | 2,112 | 2,078 |
| Grade | ||||
| Zinc | % | 2.86 | 2.80 | 2.83 |
| Copper | % | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.19 |
| Lead | % | 1.37 | 1.34 | 1.08 |
| Silver | oz/t | 2.34 | 2.46 | 2.10 |
| Gold | oz/t | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Production | metal contained | ||||
| Zinc | kt | 55.8 | 51.6 | 51.4 |
| Copper | kt | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Lead | kt | 24.9 | 23.2 | 17.7 |
| Silver | MMoz | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| Gold | koz | 8.7 | 9.2 | 8.7 |
| Cash Cost, net of by-product credits | US$/t | 630.6 | 727.7 | 832.2 |
| Cash Cost, net of by-product credits | US$/lb | 0.29 | 0.33 | 0.38 |
| CAPEX | US$ mm | 68.6 | 36.7 | 36.5 |
The El Porvenir mine is a typical skarn deposit. The mineralization occurs within the contact of the upper Triassic limestone (i.e., exoskarn) and the granodioritic‑dacitic intrusive rocks (i.e., endoskarn). There are also recognized veins and replacement manto type, minor disseminated mineralization may occur within the intrusive units. West of the Milpo‑Atacocha fault within the Goyllarisquizga Group, mineralization is characterized as veins and disseminations.
Four groups of vein/mineralized structures are reported. Structurally controlled veins are sub‑vertical up to 150 meters long, with a vertical extent of 350 meters. Economic mineralogy is mostly comprised of galena, sphalerite, and tetrahedrite, as well as variable and lesser pyrite, quartz and rhodochrosite.
Throughout 2023, the exploration program at El Porvenir was focused on drilling in mineralized zones in the Integration target, seeking to evaluate the mineralization continuity in strike and at depth, with the goal of extending the life of mine. In 2023, we drilled 16 drill holes totaling 9.3 km of exploration drilling, which confirmed the Integration target extensions, with emphasis on the intermediate and lower levels of the unit.
In 2024, we will continue to focus our efforts on expanding mineralized zones in the integration area, with the potential to extend existing Mineral Resources. We expect to also drill other satellite targets such as Don Lucho, Veta AM and Porvenir 9.
