• The project will increase processing capacity by 30,000 tons per day to reach 170,000 tons. The total investment for the first and second phases amounts to US$1.355 billion.

Minera Chinalco Peru has planned a total investment of US$1.355 billion for the first and second phases of the plant expansion at the Toromocho Mining Unit. These funds will enable processing capacity to be increased from 140,000 tons per day to 170,000 tons per day. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2024.

The company's communications leader, Álvaro Barrenechea, emphasized that the construction of the second phase of the plant expansion began in August last year after the General Directorate of Mining of the Ministry of Energy and Mines approved the construction permit named "Modification of Benefit Concession."

He noted that the expansion of the plant at the Toromocho Mining Unit will increase processing capacity by 30,000 tons per day, ultimately reaching a production capacity of 170,000 tons per day through the upgrade of existing equipment, the addition of new equipment, and the installation of additional tailings transport pipelines, among others.

“We are optimizing the equipment we acquired in phase 1, and we have a well-controlled production process in a deposit with unique characteristics, including the presence of arsenic, fluoride, and talc. This makes the management of the processing plant complex, as the ore feed comes from the mine operation," he stressed.

The Toromocho Mining Unit is located in the Morococha district, Yauli province, Junín, at 4,500 meters above sea level. It operates as an open-pit mine with an annual production of over 1 million tons, which equates to over 200,000 tons of fine copper.

Álvaro Barrenechea highlighted that 7,650 jobs will be created at the "peak" of the expansion phase, including jobs for personnel from contractors and local service providers for accommodation, food, and transportation.

He also underscored Minera Chinalco's environmental responsibility in the area of influence. Before starting operations, the company built a water treatment plant for acid mine drainage, resolving an environmental liability that had persisted for over 80 years, thereby impacting the local ecosystem.