Pebble recirculation, which can account for up to 30% of mill feed and significantly raise energy use, is being re‑examined by SRK Consulting and TOMRA Mining through sensor‑based ore sorting of the pebble stream. By treating pebbles as a heterogeneous feed and diverting barren or low-value fragments via TOMRA’s sorting units, operations can cut unnecessary regrinding and reduce circulating loads. The approach targets higher throughput and lower specific energy consumption in SAG and AG circuits without major changes to existing comminution layouts.

Buenaventura is weighing a 16‑year life extension for its San Gabriel underground gold mine in Peru’s Moquegua region, where current reserves exceed 1.8 million ounces and total measured, indicated and inferred resources top 2.4 million ounces. The operation, which poured its first gold bar in December 2025, is ramping from 2,000 tonnes per day by end‑2026 to a nominal 3,000 tpd in 2027, targeting more than 100,000 ounces of annual output. Around 90% of the rock mass is classed as low‑quality geomechanically, prompting adoption of a novel underground mining method in South America to improve selectivity and reduce dilution.

Gold Fields is reviewing its deployment of INDIMIN’s AI-based Smart Mining Coach at the Cerro Corona open-pit copper-gold mine in northern Peru, with early results presented jointly at ExpoCobre in Lima (27–29 April). The digital coach platform is being used to support operators in real time on load–haul–dump cycles and drilling, integrating fleet data and short-interval control to tighten adherence to mine plans. For geotechnical and production teams, the trial points to closer linkage between dispatch data, operator behaviour and daily pit performance.