Cerro de Pasco Resources (WKN A2N7XK / TSXV CDPR) has secured crucial operational leverage for the Quiulacocha Tailings Project in Central Peru (silver, gallium, copper, gold) with a new access and exploration agreement. The agreement with Activos Mineros S.A.C. provides the company with surface access to the entire (!) Quiulacocha tailings deposit, including areas outside its own El Metalurgista concession. For Cerro de Pasco Resources, this step marks the transition into the next development phase of the project.
Essentially, Cerro de Pasco Resources can now access not just parts of the area, but can coordinate technical work across the entire tailings footprint. The agreement covers surface access, operational coordination, and drilling activities, complementing the company’s existing concession rights over a significant portion of the project area. This significantly expands the scope for further project development.
For the Quiulacocha Tailings Project, this is particularly relevant because technical work can now be initiated over a broader area. The company intends to use the agreement to establish the data foundation required for resource estimation, feasibility studies, and the preparation of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. Cerro de Pasco Resources is thus visibly moving from a purely legal and access framework towards practical project implementation.
Cerro de Pasco Resources gains access to the entire tailings area
The new agreement with AMSAC significantly changes the initial situation for Cerro de Pasco. AMSAC is a Peruvian state-owned company responsible for the remediation of historical mining environmental liabilities. This collaboration now creates a framework in which both parties can work towards a coordinated technical and ecological solution for Quiulacocha.
For Cerro de Pasco Resources, this also represents a departure from the previous situation. In 2024, access to a limited part of the area was still regulated by a state-imposed two-year easement. The agreement now concluded goes significantly further: it creates a cooperative model for the entire tailings area, replacing a narrower, time-limited access solution with a broader operational working relationship.
Especially for a project like Quiulacocha, which focuses on tailings reprocessing, full access to the area is of central importance. This allows Cerro de Pasco Resources to plan technical programs not just in sections, but project-wide. This improves the conditions for a coherent geological, geotechnical, and environmental assessment of the entire area.
Drilling and technical programs are central to Quiulacocha
The agreement allows Cerro de Pasco Resources to carry out a broad technical work program. This includes resource and definition drilling, as well as geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling. In addition, near-surface and underground geophysical surveys, environmental baseline studies and monitoring programs, as well as the installation of measuring instruments and data acquisition systems will be conducted.
Another important point is access to historical technical and environmental data sets. This is crucial for Cerro de Pasco Resources because the project’s development is based not only on new fieldwork but also on the systematic integration of existing information. The combination of new drilling, technical measurements, and historical data is intended to form the basis for the next project milestones.
According to the company, initial drilling activities are expected to commence in the coming months. The first programs are targeted for mid-2026, subject to the usual permits and operational planning. Cerro de Pasco Resources intends to submit a new reprocessing application to the mining authority, in addition to existing permits, to obtain sectoral approval for the commencement of the environmental impact assessment preparation.
Cerro de Pasco Resources lays foundation for resource, feasibility, and EIA
The work streams now planned are closely linked to the next formal development steps. Cerro de Pasco Resources intends to use the new programs as a basis for a future mineral resource estimate, for feasibility studies, and for the preparation of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment. This will give the project a clearly defined technical path across the entire tailings area for the first time.
The agreement provides for consideration of approximately 7.2 million Peruvian Sol, equivalent to about 2.1 million US dollars, over its initial term. This provides Cerro de Pasco Resources with a structured commercial framework for accessing the entire Quiulacocha area, not just its own El Metalurgista concession.
At the same time, the agreement includes the possibility of an extension. This is important for Cerro de Pasco Resources because technical work, permitting steps, and environmental procedures for a project of this magnitude can extend over longer periods. The financing of access should enable the company to channel capital specifically into the technical programs that are essential for feasibility and permitting.
The company sees this as the basis for a longer-term solution that combines project development and remediation of the Quiulacocha tailings. This is precisely the fundamental model of Cerro de Pasco Resources: the recovery of metals is to be linked with a remediation approach. With the now secured access to the entire area, this model moves one step closer to practical implementation.
