Hudbay Minerals Approved to Increase Constancia Annual Processing Capacity to 34M Tons
Hudbay Minerals announced it has received approval from the National Environmental Certification Service for Sustainable Investments in Peru, or SENACE, to amend its environmental permit and further increase annual mill processing capacity at Constancia. The approval was received in late June and represented the fifth environmental permit amendment at Constancia. The amended permit increases the processing capacity of the Constancia mill to 34M tons of ore per annum from the previously permitted 31M tons per annum. In March, Hudbay received permit approval to increase mill throughput capacity to 31M tons from 29.9 million tons per annum. The updated permit enables additional capacity to further optimize Constancia's operations and deliver strong copper production. Hudbay's efforts to increase mill throughput align with the Peru Ministry of Energy and Mines' regulatory framework, which permits operational flexibility to operate up to 10% above nominal daily capacity. Hudbay achieved total ore processed of 30.3 million tons and 31.9 million tons in 2025 and 2024, respectively. With this permit amendment, Hudbay now has a steady-state capacity of 34 million tons per annum, while maintaining the standard operational flexibility to handle daily increases of up to 10% above permitted levels. The environmental permit amendment also approves further optimization of the mine plan, extends the operational life of Constancia, and incorporates the implementation of additional infrastructure to improve tailings transport infrastructure and water management systems.
