Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM) has secured long-awaited land rights for the Pampacancha satellite copper deposit near its Constancia polymetallic mine in Peru, which paves the way to start mining the asset later this year.
The Canadian miner, which
discovered Pampacancha in 2011, said that while the community of Chilloroya had
formally approved a surface rights agreement, additional consultation between
the government and local community was required before it can move forward.
Hudbay’s president and chief executive
officer, Peter Kukielski, said the satellite pit adds high-grade copper and
gold ore into the Constancia mine plan, lowering future cash costs and
increasing cash flows at the operation.
Constancia, located in Peru’s southern
highlands, is slated to produce this year between 100,000 and 125,000 tonnes
of copper, around 45,000 to 55,000 ounces of precious metals, and 1,100-1,200 tonnes
of molybdenum.
Other companies operating in the area, including Glencore and China Minmetals have faced delays due to local opposition to mining.