This interview was attended by a group of company executives, including Eng. César Farfán, Corporate Geology Manager; Jorge de Olazabal, Environmental Permits Manager, Vanesa Aita, Commercial Manager and Roberto Servat, Social Responsibility Manager.

What are your expectations for this 12th International Congress of Prospectors and Explorers (proEXPLO 2021)?

First of all, to support this important International Congress of Prospectors and Explorers - proEXPLO 2021.

Also, to see the contributions of new projects in an environment where ideas, knowledge and experiences can be exchanged, further enriching our knowledge and therefore the mining industry.

Experts point out that we are facing a great demand for minerals around the world. Is Peru doing everything necessary to respond to the new scenario in the global mineral market?

We are indeed facing a great demand for minerals worldwide, mainly driven by the public spending of the main world powers to reactivate their economies.

The above mentioned is reflected in good commercial terms and prices for producers, however, on the Peruvian supply side we are not prepared due to the following:

a) Age of the mines: In the last 2 years, metal mining production was affected by low grade due to the longevity of a number of mines.

b) New projects: The Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) does not foresee the start of any large projects by 2021. Construction of six major mines will begin between 2022 and 2025. Let us hope that social problems and government bureaucracy do not generate further delays.

c) Delays in approvals: The list is of projects put on hold (48 projects) or with delays is large and well known; Conga, Tia Maria, Quellaveco, among many others. This continues to postpone a portfolio of US$ 56,000 million in mining investment projects, according to the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AMCHAM).

d) Pandemic: The pandemic caused a total halt of mining activities for several months, which has resulted in lower production and investments for new projects. Currently, the mines are not at 100% production due to the constant infection of their workers. On the other hand, all approvals for new projects are taking longer than usual.

e) Investment attractiveness: our country dropped 10 positions in the important Fraser Ranking published at the end of February, which measures the level of attractiveness of the main countries based on regulatory burden, geological potential, taxes, social agreements, political stability and others.

Red tape has also affected the development of exploration. What issues are pending to be solved in order to speed up exploration investments?

Prior consultation has become a major restriction for the start of exploration and mining projects, even more so considering the current pandemic situation in which it is very difficult to coordinate directly with the population.

On the other hand, there is a lot of uncertainty with the list of indigenous communities managed by the Ministry of Culture, which changes all the time, causing many projects to find out that they have to go through this process when they were supposed to go into operation, causing delays in the schedules and postponement of investments.

Another important issue is the lack of communication that exists between the Minem and the evaluating entities - such as the National Water Authority (ANA) - who take a long time to evaluate and often do not provide an opportunity for clarifications or support from the holders.

What investments in mining exploration does VOLCAN have planned for the next two years?

In the next two years, VOLCAN will maintain its strategy of developing and advancing its most important advanced exploration projects; on the one hand, it will move forward with the Romina feasibility study, which also shows a high potential for further growth, to feed its Alpamarca plant.

On the other hand, it will continue with the economic feasibility study of Carhuacayan that together with Romina will guarantee a great future for Alpamarca. Likewise, Zoraida, located 7 kilometers south of Andaychagua, where mineralized layers with high zinc, lead and silver grades were discovered, will continue to be developed. Finally, exploration will continue at Palma.

VOLCAN is focused on developing a solid Brownfield exploration program in the surroundings of its Mining Units, in order to guarantee a sustained growth of its operations.

It is worth mentioning the discovery, at Andaychagua, of very high-grade mineralized bodies, located in a corridor of metavolcanic rocks that to date is being explored, with more than 10Km long. At Animón, at depth, a large mineralized body of very high-grade zinc was discovered and is currently being evaluated.

What technologies are being or will be applied by VOLCAN for its prospecting and exploration activities?

VOLCAN CÍA. MINERA has been applying state-of-the-art technologies focused on our exploration activities for several years, which have allowed an adequate management of information under procedures established by the mining industry, with the objective of guaranteeing quality information, analysis and definition of geological mineralization controls that are reflected in the resource models as a final product.

In addition, VOLCAN currently has a corporate database that captures, validates and manages data from the different exploration activities and mining operations, as well as synchronization with internal and external laboratories for the different geochemical analyses.

Given the current situation (COVID-19), which has affected all industries and especially mining, VOLCAN is betting on new technologies that will break the barriers of connectivity, with connections outside its own intranet and integrating all its geological processes in a single database; this will allow efficient control of the different activities as well as better decision-making (Drilling, Sampling, QAQC, Laboratories, Geological/Geotechnical Records, Geometallurgy, Modeling, Resource Estimation and Operations).

As part of the technological leap and towards a digital transformation, VOLCAN is evaluating the implementation of mobile devices, as well as the use of unmanned equipment (Drone) specially designed for exploration and underground mining works that will allow obtaining data faster and in real time, with the application of these technologies is expected to achieve an efficient quality control (QC) in all our geological processes.

We should also mention the application in the medium term of new technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) that will help to analyze a large amount of information in order to make predictions and find new exploration targets; of course without neglecting the criteria and analysis of our team of geologists who are the fundamental part of the business and who provide us with increasingly accurate knowledge about our deposits, as well as the contribution of new discoveries that will guarantee the mineral resources in the coming years.

What has been VOLCAN's plan in the face of COVID-19 both in its operations and with its communities?

In this pandemic caused by COVID-19, VOLCAN has reconfirmed its commitment to contribute to the health of the communities where it operates. As a result of good communication with local authorities, we were able to deliver important rapid test donations to help detect the virus in Cerro de Pasco and Junín, where our operations are located.

We have also directly donated two oxygen production plants, one for the Daniel Alcides Carrión Regional Hospital in the city of Cerro de Pasco, where we have two mining units, and another for the Cayetano Heredia Hospital in the city of Lima. These plants will supply oxygen to the entire hospital network for the benefit of citizens affected by COVID-19.

Glencore also approved a social fund for pandemic prevention and assistance measures. This fund has been allocated to protect the health and safety of our employees and communities near our units, in addition to seeking to alleviate the economic burden of our communities through coordination and delivery of basic necessities and nutritious food during this emergency period.

At the end of 2020, we managed to use US$ 366,500, equivalent to hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid of basic necessities such as food, warm clothing for the cold weather, delivery of PPEs, fumigators and equipment for rural medical posts benefiting more than 50 communities, populated centers and institutions such as the General Fire Brigade, the National Police of Peru, among others.

It should be noted that the mining reactivation was achieved under strict biosafety protocols involving our operation, community companies, contractors and the general population. We maintained close communication with local authorities to ensure compliance with protocols and safety standards that allowed us to operate without putting at risk any of the stakeholders involved. These agreements with local authorities also included activities to benefit the health of the community, such as disinfection of streets, markets, donation of fumigation backpacks, among others.

We also worked on a communication strategy aimed at our communities of direct influence to reinforce the information provided about COVID-19 and the sanitary measures to prevent its spread. We worked on three communication channels such as our social responsibility magazine, distributed in all communities of influence, as well as radio spots, particularly in our Cerro de Pasco and Chungar Mining Units. We also used our Permanent Information Offices located in the communities to distribute printed information to the population.

Additionally, a document was shared from the Corporate Office to all community companies and contractors including health and biosafety protocols that have allowed to resume the reactivation process during the pandemic and safeguard everyone's health.