MINING REFINING

Singapore's Boroo plans to boost Peru's Lagunas Norte gold mine

Tue Oct 10 2023

Singaporean miner Boroo aims to increase output at its Lagunas Norte gold asset in Peru’s La Libertad Region to 250,000-300,000oz in 2026 from 165,000-175,000oz expected for this year.

Boroo bought the mine from Canada’s Barrick Gold in June 2021.

CEO Dulguun Erdenebaatar told an event that the company will invest in assets Barrick undervalued, increase their productive capacity and start operations swiftly if environmental studies are complete and permitting advanced.

“The case of Lagunas Norte is interesting because it has ongoing production, growth opportunities in the short and long term, and space for brownfield and greenfield exploration,” Erdenebaatar said.

The company also owns the Boroo and Ulaanbulag gold deposits in Mongolia.

The carbonaceous materials optimization project is key to increase Lagunas Norte’s output, as it extends the useful life by six years. Construction is finished and production is being ramped up.

"This is a good case of how a brownfield project that relies on the infrastructure previously developed [by Barrick] can start quickly and be profitable," according to Erdenebaatar.

Boroo is also identifying potential deposits within a 35km radius of its current operations. Lagunas Norte is located in an area with high gold potential, and the company will explore 12 low-cost greenfield deposits through 2027, according to a corporate presentation.

A third production driver will be a refractory minerals project starting in 2026 to extract additional ore from the main Lagunas Norte pit and extend useful life by 12 years, Erdenebaatar said. The feasibility study is being conducted by Canada's Hatch.

Source: https://www.bnamericas.com