Peru - The golden production would grow 10 % in 2008

The golden production of Peru would grow about 10 % this year, from 170 tons of 2007, due principally at the entry in operations of a project of the South African Gold Fields, he said on Tuesday the Auriferous Committee of the Mining Society. Peru is the fifth world golden producer and it has in the mining to one of the principal sectors that impel his economy.

The growth of the production of Peru will be of about “10 % for this year, this is the expectation,” there said the president of the Auriferous Committee, Verónica Marsano, in the beginning of the Eighth International Symposium of the Gold that it is realized in Lima.

“We hope that the tendency should continue for the next years, it is an expectation,” the executive added.

Marsano affirmed that the growth of the golden production of Peru should principally at the entry in operations of the project Hill Crowns, property of the South African Gold Fields, in the last trimester of the year.

Gold Fields, whose investment in the project Closed Crown amounts to 450 million dollars, has estimated a production of 400.000 golden ounces in the first years of operation in his Peruvian unit, to become stable later in 300.000 ounces of average gold per year.

The increase of the golden production in Peru should also to that the Peruvian company Good luck and the mine-layer Yanacocha, controlled by Newmont Mining Corp., “they have announced major productions of his mines, of his deposits,” it recounted Marsano.

The Peruvian mine-layer Aruntani would support his stable auriferous production in approximately 200.000 ounces this year, while the company Arasi would treble his production to 120.000 ounces, said on Tuesday the president of the directory of both companies, Guido del Castillo.

Aruntani operates on the mine Tucari and Santa Rosa in the Andean Handle region in the south of Peru, while Arasi operates on the mine Andrés or earlier Liberated call located also in Handle.

Both signatures are of Peruvian capitals.

“Arasi produces 40.000 golden ounces a year but it is going to go this year to approximately 120.000 golden ounces. Aruntani will have stable production, it has over 200.000 ounces per year,” Del Castillo said in an interview with Reuters, in the frame of the Eighth International Symposium of the Gold, that it is realized in Lima.

Of the Castle he thought, also, that the Arasi reservations would reach 1,5 million golden ounces, while those of Aruntani would be “over a million ounces.”

The executive added that they hope to grow in the next years of the hand of several projects in Handle and Cusco, an area that has turned into the center of attention for the both local and international explorers.

“In the south of Peru there are like 150 mines in exploration nationals and foreigners that have negotiated with the communities and are perforating and are doing exploration works,” the executive recounted.

PROJECTS IN PORTFOLIO

Peru is the fifth world golden producer.

“We have two projects, a project that we have bought of Iamgold in Cusco, which also is going to enter production next year, is called Mines Paw. We estimate that it produces 50.000 golden ounces per year from 2009,” Del Castillo was necessary.

Also it recounted that Aruntani was exploring along with the Mexican Peñoles another auriferous project called Capac Orco, where the first constructions would be realized in four months.

The project Capac Orco is located in the north of the region of Handle.

“We are the operators of Capac Orco, it is a very interesting project, newly we will begin the constructions in four months and to produce in two or three years,” he added.

He added the Castle that, between other plans, they carry out explorations in the project of copper “Anubia“ in the Andean Apurímac region, in the south of Peru.

“This project is in initial exploration, in perforation of diamantine, we have already perforated 65 hollows of diamantine perforation, with very good copper results,” he was necessary.

“We think that it might come to approximately 10 million tons of mineral with a 1,5 per cent law, it is of high law,” he added.

Peru is the second biggest world copper producer.

20-05-2008