Finally, this exploration-driven approach has remained over time as a structural feature of the company’s business model. Recent official data provide a useful point of reference: according to the 2025 Mining Exploration Projects Portfolio published by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (2025 Mining Annual Report), Buenaventura ranks as the company with the highest projected direct exploration investment in the registry analyzed, with US$143.9 million allocated to projects such as San Gabriel and Tambomayo. This evidence reinforces the central role of exploration within the company’s long-term strategy. 4. STRATEGIC ADAPTATION AND VALUE CREATION IN BUENAVENTURA Buenaventura’s trajectory illustrates how long-term value creation in mining is the result of a sustained capacity for strategic adaptation in response to geological, operational, social, and institutional challenges. As outlined in previous sections, this adaptation has been progressive and cumulative, consistently anchored in exploration as a permanent practice and in a rigorous reading of the country’s economic, social, and institutional context. In its early years, in the 1950s, the company consolidated its experience in underground silver mining, particularly in Julcani and Recuperada, both located in Huancavelica, operating under conditions of complex geology and limited infrastructure. This period proved decisive in building technical capabilities and in strengthening an operational culture oriented toward deep knowledge of the subsoil. One of the first milestones of strategic adaptation in productive terms occurred at Orcopampa, in Arequipa, the company’s third operating unit, which began operations in 1967 as a silver mine. By 1988, when silver veins were showing signs of depletion and the continuity of the operation was in question, a fortuitous event took place. During support work carried out for the local community following a landslide that affected an irrigation canal, a gold vein was discovered in the Chipmo area. This finding marked a turning point in Orcopampa’s trajectory, transforming it primarily into a gold operation. The episode anticipated a logic that would later recur: adapting existing assets to extend their useful life and sustain value generation over time. Over the years, exploration became consolidated as a structured and permanent system. The mining operations developed by Buenaventura were explored and discovered by the company’s own geological teams, reinforcing the centrality of exploration within its business model. Available evidence indicates that all currently operating assets have been identified through in-house exploration efforts, which is consistent with this exploration-centered approach. This capability enabled the company to participate in significant milestones in Peruvian mining, such as the discovery and development of Yanacocha in the 1990s, one of the largest gold operations in South America, and its participation in the privatization process of Cerro Verde, now one of the largest copper complexes worldwide. Both cases reflect a transition toward larger-scale operations, as well as the importance of strategic partnerships and investment attraction as mechanisms for advancing complex projects in the country. 177
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