Peru's Volcan Advances Romina Mine Expansion, Plans Operations Through 2038

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, Volcan Compañía Minera disclosed that its Romina polymetallic mine project is planned to operate through 2038 and will form an integrated production system with the existing Alpamarca mining unit. The project is located in Peru's Huaral Province at an altitude of over 4,000 meters and employs a combination of underground and open-pit mining, with the ore produced to be transported to the Alpamarca concentrator in the Junín Region for processing. The project's initial capital expenditure is approximately US$115 million, with subsequent sustaining capital expenditure estimated at US$6 million to US$8 million per year.

The core of Romina's development is to leverage Alpamarca's existing concentrator and infrastructure systems. The Alpamarca concentrator currently has an installed processing capacity of 2,500 tonnes per day, and Volcan is continuing to modify the facilities to accommodate Romina's high-grade ore processing requirements. The company expects the related additional processing capacity to be ready by February 2027, but has not yet disclosed the specific designed processing capacity after the modification is completed.

The transport infrastructure between Romina and Alpamarca has essentially taken shape. Volcan has completed a 1.6-kilometer connecting tunnel that can be used for continuous ore transport while also accommodating the passage of equipment, materials, and personnel; the project has also built and upgraded approximately 14 kilometers of roads, along with supporting facilities including maintenance facilities, camps, office facilities, an explosives magazine, a main substation, and transmission lines. The company's 2025 annual report confirms that Romina ore will be uniformly processed at the existing Alpamarca concentrator.

The modification of the Alpamarca concentrator entered the commissioning phase in 2026. Volcan disclosed in June that most of the concentrator's upgrade works had been completed and commissioning had begun, with test results showing that mineral recovery rates and concentrate quality were basically consistent with project expectations. This September disclosure further clarifies the timeline for subsequent capacity building of the integrated processing system to February 2027.

Romina's exploration work dates back to the first diamond drilling in 2013, following multiple rounds of geological mapping, sampling, and geophysical work. The project design adopts underground mining methods such as sublevel stoping, and introduces real-time monitoring, automated equipment, and remote control systems. In 2026, the project also successively introduced automated long-hole drilling rigs and underground automated loading equipment for subsequent underground mine production.

Volcan's previously disclosed project plan shows that Romina primarily develops zinc, lead, and silver resources. In March 2026, the company had estimated the project's operating life through 2037; this latest disclosure updates the planned operating period to 2038. Meanwhile, the further capacity expansion milestone for the Alpamarca concentrator has been clarified as February 2027. The project's subsequent focus will shift to completing the concentrator system capacity expansion, increasing Romina's ore processing scale, and stabilizing integrated production.