Panoro Minerals is making significant progress on its flagship Cotabambas Copper-Gold-Silver Project located in the Apurimac region of southern Peru, about 48 km southwest of Cusco. The project is a major porphyry deposit situated in a prolific mining district with robust infrastructure including roads, rail, power, water, and port access.
In October 2024, Panoro secured approval for an expanded and extended semi-detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIAsd) for Cotabambas. This approval increases drilling platforms by 50% to 299, expands the exploration permit area by 114% to 6,588 hectares, and extends the drilling permit life to 2030. These regulatory milestones follow comprehensive environmental and social baseline studies conducted between 2022 and 2024, reflecting Panoro’s strong commitment to sustainable development and community engagement.
The updated February 2024 NI 43-101 technical report highlights resource growth based on 73,938 meters of drilling, including both new and legacy data. The mineral resource encompasses hypogene and supergene sulphides, mixed/oxide copper-gold, and oxide gold mineralization, classified into Indicated and Inferred categories. The deposit features two main mineral clusters: Cluster 1 with six mineralized porphyries over a 3km by 6km area, and Cluster 2 with skarn mineralization in the central/southwest zone.
Panoro is advancing toward a Pre-Feasibility Study targeting a 43% increase in measured, indicated, and inferred resources, tripling indicated resources, and significantly expanding high-grade zones by 247%. The mine plan envisions staged production starting at 40,000 tonnes per day, growing to 80,000 tonnes per day after four years. Economic projections include a net present value (NPV) at 7.5% discount rate exceeding USD 2 billion, initial capital expenditures around USD 1 billion, a payback period under three years, and an internal rate of return (IRR) above 20%.
Financially, Panoro announced a brokered private placement in June 2025 to raise up to C$10 million to fund infill drilling, metallurgical testing, pre-feasibility engineering, and an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The company plans to use these proceeds alongside payments from the sale of its previous Antilla project to advance Cotabambas toward feasibility and final permitting.
Strategically, Cotabambas is located within the Southern Peru Copper Belt, home to 12 large open pit copper mines and projects with substantial existing infrastructure. Panoro holds 100% of the mineral rights across approximately 15,900 hectares via 17 concessions, all in good standing with strong local community relations. This exclusive control positions Panoro uniquely as the sole exploration company with full ownership of an advanced copper project in the region, enhancing permitting facilitation and developer positioning.
Peru’s government recognized Cotabambas among a new portfolio of mining exploration projects with potential investments totaling around USD 1 billion, announced in early 2025. This underscores the project’s importance within the national mining sector and its potential to contribute significantly to regional economic development.
Overall, Panoro Minerals’ systematic permitting expansions, resource growth, and economic optimization efforts are positioning Cotabambas as an emerging major copper-gold-silver mine in southern Peru. The project offers substantial expansion and value creation potential through 2025 and beyond, representing a compelling opportunity for investors and stakeholders in the mining industry.
Source(s): https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/1521-tsx-venture/pml/169514-panoro-minerals-extends-and-expands-exploration-permit-cotabambas-project-peru.html, https://panoro.com/en/cotabambas-project/cotabambas-project/, https://panoro.com/site/assets/files/4165/panoro_minerals_ltd_-_corporate_presentation_june_2025_-_final.pdf
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