Buenaventura Discusses 2023 Capex Plans
The precious metals producer, which resumed construction of the San Grabiel operation at the end of October, will focus on investing $190 million in the gold project, located in the Moquegua Region; $50 million in the Yumpag silver deposit, in the Pasco Region; and around $50 million to improve the management and capacity of the tailings dam at the El Brocal mine, the executive explained. He also noted that the budget for exploration activities will range between $80 million and $90 million. Of these, “$50 million will go to exploration at [existing] operations, while some $35 million will go to greenfield projects,” he added.
The company expects Uchucchacua to resume operations in Q4 2023 and that Yumpag will have the necessary permits to start operations in the same quarter. The Julcani mine, which was halted due to protests, resumed operations in February, and San Gabriel is expected to start operations in 2025. Total capex for the latest project remains at $470 million.
In 2022 the company invested $152 million. “The increase resulted from the stoppage we had at San Gabriel in the middle of last year; now we have to continue with the pending work,” Buenaventura CEO Leandro García said.
According to Domínguez, the company will rely on the dividends received through its minority interest in the Cerro Verde mine, which was $79 million in 2022. “We have $250 million in cash and we expect dividends from Cerro Verde that could range between $100 million and $120 million. If we need more cash, we could raise between $50 million and $100 million,” he said.