Jinteng Mining, a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining Group, has officially become the new owner of Pan American Silver’s La Arena open-pit mine and project in Peru. The deal, valued at $245 million in cash, was finalized on Tuesday after receiving approval from Ottawa in November.
Under the agreement, Zijin will also pay a 1.5% life-of-mine gold net smelter return royalty for the La Arena II project and an additional $50 million contingent payment once commercial production begins. Pan American retains a right to 60% of the future copper concentrate produced from the La Arena II project under commercial terms, aiming to supply the North American markets.
Located in Peru’s La Libertad province, the La Arena property includes both the operational La Arena copper-gold mine and the La Arena II project, which is in advanced exploration. The open-pit mine has been in operation since 2011, processing 36,000 tonnes of ore per day and producing nearly three tonnes of gold annually. The mine has an expected life of three more years, though Pan American had already extended its life from 2021 to 2026.
Since acquiring La Arena from Tahoe Resources in 2019, Pan American has added over half a million ounces of gold through exploration efforts. The company operates numerous silver and gold mines across the Americas, with assets in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
