Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A. ADR

What it is

Buenaventura is Peru’s largest publicly-traded precious and base metals company, engaged in the exploration, mining development, processing, and trade of gold, silver, and other base metals via wholly-owned mines and through joint venture projects. It operates several mines across Peru — Orcopampa, Uchucchacua, Julcani, Tambomayo, La Zanja, El Brocal, and Coimolache — and holds a 19.58% stake in Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, a large copper mine run in partnership with Freeport-McMoRan and Sumitomo.

The company began operations in 1953 with the acquisition of the Julcani silver mine in Huancavelica, and in 1996 became the first Latin American mining company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Its shares trade simultaneously on the NYSE (BVN) and the Lima Stock Exchange (BUE.LM), with each NYSE share structured as an American Depositary Receipt (ADR).

Who owns it

The company was founded on September 7, 1953, by Alberto Benavides de la Quintana, who discovered the Julcani silver-lead-copper deposit in the Angaraes Province. Governance remains heavily influenced by the founding Benavides Ganoza family, who maintain a strong presence on the board; institutional shareholders such as BlackRock and VanEck are also major holders, and the stock trades freely on both exchanges.

Not published: The exact percentage stake held directly by the Benavides Ganoza family is not disclosed as a single consolidated figure in the BVL filings (documents.bvl.com.pe) or the SMV filing (smv.gob.pe) retrieved for this profile; Peruvian securities regulation (CONASEV Resolution 141-98-EF/94.10) requires annual report disclosure of shareholders holding 5% or more, but family holdings are spread across multiple related vehicles and the 2024 Memoria Anual does not consolidate them into a single ownership percentage.

Who runs it

Roque Eduardo Benavides Ganoza, son of the founder, serves as Chairman of the Board. Leandro García Raggio is Chief Executive Officer and has held that role since 2020, leading the company’s operational and growth strategy.

Daniel Dominguez Vera serves as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance & Administration, overseeing the balance sheet. The annual report for 2024 was signed on March 28, 2025, by Leandro García Raggio as General Manager.

The money, in plain words

In full-year 2024, Buenaventura brought in $1.15bn in sales — up 40% from 2023 — and kept $403.7m as net profit. That means it retained about 35 cents of profit from every dollar of sales — a net profit margin of 35.0% (our calculation) — exceptional for a mining company.

In full-year 2025, revenue climbed a further 50% to $1.73bn and net profit nearly doubled to $791m, lifting the net profit margin to 46% (our calculation). Buenaventura ended 2024 with $478m in cash and net debt of only $148m, a leverage ratio of 0.34x — meaning debt was less than half a year’s operating profit.

Silver production surged 69% in 2024, reaching 15.5 million ounces versus 9.2 million in 2023, a key driver of the revenue jump. After several lean years, the board resumed dividend payments, proposing $0.2922 per share for 2024.

For 2025, the board proposed a dividend of $0.9904 per share.

What it is doing now

In December 2025, Buenaventura poured its first gold bar at San Gabriel, a new mine in the Moquegua region, completing commissioning on schedule. San Gabriel is targeting a processing rate of 2,000 tonnes of ore per day in 2026, with gold production guidance of 70,000 to 80,000 ounces for the year.

In August 2024, Buenaventura sold its Chaupiloma Royalty Company to Franco-Nevada for $210m, monetising a non-core asset and strengthening the balance sheet ahead of San Gabriel’s ramp-up. Peru also approved an environmental study for Buenaventura’s Trapiche copper project, which carries an estimated investment of $3.4bn.

What to watch

• San Gabriel ramp-up: The mine is targeting 2,000 tonnes per day in 2026 toward a nameplate capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day. Any permitting delay or cost overrun on its ~$720–750m total capital cost is the single biggest near-term risk.
• Trapiche copper decision: Peru’s approval of the Trapiche environmental study opens the path to a potential $3.4bn copper project — large enough to transform the company’s scale and debt profile.
• Gold and silver prices: With a net margin now above 45%, Buenaventura’s profits are highly sensitive to metal prices; a 10% drop in gold moves the bottom line materially.
• Tax disputes: The audited financial statements note tax claims paid under protest to Peru’s revenue authority (SUNAT) totalling $518m — a long-running dispute whose resolution in either direction will move the balance sheet.

This is news, not investment advice.