Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Dia Bras Peru S.A.C., Sierra Metals acquired 82% of Minera Corona, S.A. ("Corona") in May of 2011. Corona owns 100% of the Yauricocha Mine. Yauricocha, is an underground mine located in western central Peru in the Yauyos province, approximately 12 km west of the Continental Divide. The Yauricocha property covers 18,778 hectares that straddle a 20 km strike length of the prolific Yauricocha fault, a major ore controlling structure in this part of western central Peru. The mine is at an average altitude of 4,600 meters and has been producing for more than 68 years. Ore is processed at the on-site Chumpe plant using a combination of crushing, grinding and flotation and is permitted to produce at a rate of 3,150 tonnes per day, which is expected to increase to 3,600 tonnes per day during 2019 upon receipt of the ITS permit. A preliminary economic assessment released in June 2018, studies increasing production to 5,500 tonnes per day in 2021.
The ore is treated in two separate circuits and is extracted from three different types of deposits which include the following:
- A polymetallic deposit, containing silver, lead, zinc, copper, and gold
- A lead oxide deposit, containing lead, silver and gold
- A copper oxide deposit, containing copper, silver, lead and gold
Exploration
Peru is one of the most prolific polymetallic producing regions of the world. Sierra Metals controls a large area of prospective claims, exceeding 50,000 hectares of mining claims within the country.
The exploration program has the following goals:
- Brownfield programs within and close to existing mines to exploit near mine targets that can be converted into resources and reserves and brought into the existing mine plans within a shorter period of time
- Developing a pipeline of open pit and underground opportunities through a district scale study that incorporates various geological data layers, historical drill hole and mine data