Peru Awards Mine Waste to US-Backed Miner on 12 October
PERU · MINING
Key Facts
- —The country Peru, on South America’s Pacific coast, is a major metals exporter with old mining towns high in the Andes.
- —What happened On Monday 12 October, AMSAC, Peru’s state clean-up company for old mines, awarded the Quiulacocha mine waste site to Cerro de Pasco Resources.
- —The US angle A US government lender agreed in March to fund up to US$5 million and is weighing a loan of up to US$300 million.
- —Critical minerals The project targets silver and base metals plus gallium and indium; Washington lists silver, gallium and indium as critical minerals.
- —The numbers AMSAC expects more than 500 million soles (about US$146 million) in contractual payments over an estimated 21 years of operation.
- —Still open The final contracts with AMSAC are not signed yet; the company expects them in the coming days.
Peru has picked a US-backed miner to clean up and reprocess a decades-old pile of mine waste. On Monday 12 October, state company AMSAC awarded the Quiulacocha tailings in Pasco, high in the Andes, to Cerro de Pasco Resources.
The deal matters in Washington because the project also targets gallium and indium, metals used in chips and defence systems. A US government lender has already agreed to fund up to US$5 million and is weighing a loan of up to US$300 million.
What Peru Decided on 12 October
AMSAC, short for Activos Mineros, is the state company that cleans up mining sites left behind by former owners. Its sale committee awarded Public Auction No. 001-2026-AMSAC to Cerro de Pasco Resources del Perú, AMSAC announced and the company confirmed.
The award covers the Quiulacocha tailings, the finely ground rock left after metals are taken out of ore, plus the surface rights. The winner may reprocess this mine waste to recover the metals still inside it.
The company calls the site one of Peru’s largest legacy mining liabilities. The award still depends on definitive agreements with AMSAC, which the company expects to sign in the coming days.
Why Washington Is Watching
The parent, Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc., is a Canadian mining company listed in Canada and Lima. Americans can buy its shares on OTCQX, a US over-the-counter market, under the ticker CDPMF.
In March, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Washington’s development lender, agreed to fund up to US$5 million of early work. That covers drilling and a feasibility study, with the company matching each dollar, its 2 March statement said.
The DFC is also weighing a construction loan of up to US$300 million. The company stressed that this loan is not assured.
The project targets silver and base metals together with gallium and indium. The company calls the last two essential to advanced semiconductors, energy systems and defence.
Silver, gallium and indium are all on the US government’s final 2025 list of 60 critical minerals, the US Geological Survey said. The survey is the Interior Department’s science agency.
A Polluted Legacy Older Than 60 Years
AMSAC says the Quiulacocha area has suffered more than six decades of pollution, in its 12 October statement. The Peruvian mining news sites ProActivo and Energiminas also reported the award and its figures.
A state-funded clean-up would cost about 550 million soles (about US$160 million, at 3.43 soles per US dollar on 13 October), AMSAC says. Under the new model, private investment helps pay for that work, and the investor carries the risks its contract assigns.
AMSAC expects more than 500 million soles (about US$146 million) in contractual payments over an estimated 21 years of operation, plus any taxes. A community trust fund of about 20 million soles (about US$5.8 million) is also planned.
AMSAC puts the combined projected benefits and public savings at more than 1 billion soles (about US$291 million). “Our main goal is for the benefits of this transformation to reach the people of Quiulacocha and Cerro de Pasco,” said AMSAC chief Dante Aguilar.
The company already owns El Metalurgista, a concession in central Peru with silver-rich tailings from more than a century of mining. With Quiulacocha, it expects to hold all the rights its reprocessing project needs.
What It Means for You
For US investors, the award is a step forward for a development-stage company whose shares trade in the United States. It is not yet a signed contract, and there is no official resource estimate for the site.
For Peru, it tests a new idea: private miners clean up state-held mine waste in exchange for the metals inside. For background, see how Peru’s copper mining works.
What Is Not Known
Neither the company nor AMSAC has published the tonnage of waste, the price paid or the number of rival bids.
The company has no mineral resource yet under NI 43-101, Canada’s rule for reporting mining resources. It warns that the final agreements may slip and that the award could be challenged.
The DFC loan has not been approved. The winner must also obtain permits, environmental plans and guarantees, AMSAC said when it launched the auction on 2 July.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Quiulacocha tailings site?
It is a deposit of mine waste in the Pasco region of Peru’s central Andes. AMSAC, the state clean-up company, says the area has suffered more than six decades of pollution.
Who won the Quiulacocha auction?
Cerro de Pasco Resources del Perú, the Peruvian unit of a Canadian-listed company. The parent trades in the US under the ticker CDPMF.
Is the US government involved?
Yes. The DFC, a US government lender, agreed in March to fund up to US$5 million. It is also weighing a loan of up to US$300 million.
Sources: AMSAC (Activos Mineros), award statement, 12 October 2026; Cerro de Pasco Resources (award release), 12 October 2026; Cerro de Pasco Resources (DFC funding release), 2 March 2026; AMSAC (auction launch), 2 July 2026; US Geological Survey, 14 November 2025; ProActivo, 12 October 2026; Energiminas, 12 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief