LIMA - Hochschild Mining plans to invest about $200-million in the construction of a gold mine in Brazil, a project it will launch in the second quarter of the year, CEO Ignacio Bustamante told Reuters on Wednesday.
The construction of the Mara Rosa mine, a project it acquired last year for $120-million, will be ready to start production in the first half of 2024, the executive said during a mining business forum in Lima.
"It's the most important project we have to date," said Bustamante, who added that the mine is expected to produce about 100 000 oz of gold annually.
London-listed Hochschild Mining operates Perus's Inmaculada and Pallancata gold and silver mines, which were immersed last year in a conflict with communities in an Andean region who demanded the closure of their operations alleging water contamination in the area. The claims were rejected.
The conflict was resolved and now Hochschild Mining expects the Peruvian government to extend the useful life of Inmaculada until 2042, "a process that is underway and that could occur at the end of the second quarter of this year," Bustamante said.
If the life of the mine is extended, the company expects to invest $4.4-billion over two decades in Inmaculada, which currently represents more than 60% of its cash flow.