What improvements have been made at Inmaculada?

The most significant improvement project at Inmaculada is the ore sorting facility. It employs various technologies like lasers, color, and x-rays to screen the material. The engineering of the plant is in its final stages, and we plan to have it operational by Q1 2022. The facility will have a total capacity of 1,800 mt/d, and it will improve the grade fed to the plant while enhancing the mechanization of mining methods. Additionally, the plant will enable us to add value to other parts of the mine that were not profitable before.

 Where has Hochschild’s recent brownfield exploration work been focused?

Our recent exploration work has been concentrated on both Inmaculada and San José. We managed to attain additional resources at both deposits in 2020, and we are excited about the discoveries we made in 2021. Our goal is to present additional inferred resources to the market by the time we publish our mid-year report. For the second half of 2021, we have identified two promising targets, namely Minascucho and San Francisco, which we intend to drill before the year-end.

 Why do you think anti-mining sentiment in Peru exists, and how can the private sector change this?

Negative news and communication about the mining sector often associate it with illegal mining activities, leading people to have negative perceptions of mining. As a sector, we need to communicate better and educate the population about the positive impact the industry has for the country and its communities. While the pandemic has highlighted many things that the mining sector has done to support the economy, there is still room for improvement. We believe that the private sector can play a vital role in changing this perception by increasing transparency and engaging in community development projects. By doing so, we can show the positive side of mining and address the negative sentiment.