Located in northern Chile in the Atacama Desert, El Peñón is an underground gold-silver mine acquired in 2007 when Yamana completed the purchase of Meridian Gold. The operation has maintained a mineral reserve life of six to eight years, continually replacing ounces mined since entering production in 1999. It is a prime example of how Yamana is able to deliver value and organic growth by consistently replacing mineral reserves beyond depletion and increasing mine life.

El Peñón was rightsized in late 2016 to optimize its development and sustaining capital requirements and provide time and flexibility for exploration discoveries. As a result, El Peñón reduced its mine throughput, stabilizing production at approximately 160,000 ounces of gold per year, (215,000 gold equivalent ounces including silver production), and it reduced costs and improved efficiencies across the operation. The lower throughput also improved processing plant performance, resulting in higher recoveries. Daily throughput is now approximately 3,300 tonnes per day (“tpd”), but El Peñón has the capacity to process up to 4,200 tpd, representing an opportunity to increase production as the operation endeavours to build its mineral inventory in the wake of robust exploration results.

Since rightsizing the operation, El Peñón has improved cash flow and consistently exceeded its production targets, providing a sustainable platform for operations and development of the exploration potential aimed at extending mine life and generating further value for the Company’s shareholders.

Exploration at El Peñón has focused on extending mine life by adding new mineral resources in areas outside of current life of mine plans. Ongoing evaluation and interpretation have recognized low-angle faults that displace several of the principal veins, leading to the discovery of deep extensions of the Orito, Bonanza, El Valle, Martillo Flat, and Pampa Campamento veins, while further interpretation and drilling continue to provide new mineral reserves from secondary veins and vein extensions, notably in the Sorpresa, Esmeralda, and Paloma sectors. Exploration also generated additional discoveries and new mineralized structures, including the discovery of Quebrada Colorada Sur and deep exploratory drilling intercepts targeting extensions of the major producing vein systems at depth and to the south of the mine. The Company is successfully leveraging artificial intelligence technology to identify new drill targets using historical data. Please see the press release published April 4, 2022, for the most recent exploration update for El Peñón.

Please click here to view the latest technical report for El Peñón.

Please refer to Mineral Reserves & Resources for complete information relating to mineral reserves and mineral resources indicating tonnage and grade for the various mines and projects.