Newmont ‘ramps down’ Yanacocha mine while Peru restricts travel

Newmont will "ramp down" mining at its Yanacocha asset in Peru after the country moved to restrict travel amid global contagion over the Covid-19 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) spread, it said.

Gold production from leeching will continue but mining ore will cease, the company said. Yanacocha produces significant amounts of copper, zinc and lead concentrates as a byproduct of gold mining.

“As the situation is dynamic and the duration of these restrictions are uncertain, we are currently unable to determine the ultimate impact on Yanacocha’s production and costs for 2020,” the company said.

The mine has reserves of 335,658 tonnes of copper as of December 31, 2019, Newmont’s annual financial report shows.

Zinc treatment charges – paid to smelters for the costs of turning concentrate to metal – have showed signs of dropping while arbitrage-related demand from China pushed spot deals below the $300-per-tonne mark.

Fastmarkets’ zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China was assessed at $280-315 per tonne on February 28, adjusted from $285-310 per tonne on January 31.

What to read next
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on February 27 2026 due to a backend calculation error. Fastmarkets has also corrected the indices' rationale and all related inferred indices.