Hudbay Minerals provides three-year production outlook

Hudbay has affirmed its 2025 production guidance as issued on February 19, 2025, and has issued new 2026 and 2027 production guidance in connection with updated life-of-mine models to support annual reserves and resource estimates. Consolidated copper production over the next three years is expected to average 144,000i tonnes, representing an increase of 4% from 2024 levels. The increase is due to higher expected copper production in British Columbia as a result of mill throughput ramp-up throughout 2025 and 2026 and higher grades in 2027 from the accelerated stripping schedule, which more than offsets the depletion of the high-grade Pampacancha deposit in Peru at the end of 2025. Consolidated gold production over the next three years is expected to average 253,000i ounces, reflecting higher-than-expected annual gold production levels in Manitoba, as compared to prior guidance, a result of continued strong operating performance in Snow Lake and a contribution from Pampacancha high grade gold zones in 2025. Peru’s three-year production guidance reflects stable copper production of approximately 88,000i tonnes per year, as the depletion of higher copper grades from Pampacancha in 2025 is offset by higher expected throughput levels in 2026 and 2027 with mill improvement projects, including the installation of a pebble crusher. Total mill ore feed from Pampacancha is expected to be approximately 25% in 2025, lower than the typical one-third in prior years as Pampacancha approaches depletion. Gold production over the next three years is expected to average 31,000i ounces, lower than 2024 levels as additional high grade gold benches were mined at Pampacancha in late 2024, ahead of schedule, resulting in gold production exceeding 2024 guidance levels, as well as the depletion of the higher grade Pampacancha deposit in late 2025. Manitoba’s three-year production guidance reflects continued strong gold production levels averaging 193,000i ounces per year. The impressive operating performance has resulted in 2025 gold production guidance being 8% higher than the previous 2025 guidance of 185,000 ounces, and 2026 gold production guidance being 3% higher than the previous 2026 guidance of 185,000 ounces. Similarly, the midpoint of the 2027 gold production guidance is 17% higher than the production in the most recent technical report. The production guidance anticipates Lalor operating at 4,500 tonnes per day supplemented by 45,000 tonnes of ore feed from the 1901 deposit in 2025 as the company confirms the optimal mining method. New Britannia mill throughput is expected to continue to exceed initial expectations and operate at 2,000 tonnes per day starting in 2025, far exceeding its original design capacity of 1,500 tonnes per day. Zinc production is expected to decline over the next two years as the Lalor mine continues to prioritize higher grade gold and copper zones and then start to increase in 2027 with initial production from the zinc zones at the 1901 deposit. British Columbia’s three-year production guidance reflects sequentially higher annual copper production averaging 44,000i tonnes per year, a 67% increase from 2024 as a result of mill throughput ramp-up in the second half of the year from several mill initiatives, including the planned conversion of the third ball mill to a second SAG mill, and higher grades from the accelerated stripping program. The mill throughput ramp-up reflects the first half of 2025 at similar throughput levels seen in 2024 with improvements to throughput in the second half of 2025 concurrent with the completion of the SAG mill conversion project, ramping up towards 50,000 tonnes per day in 2026. The Copper Mountain production guidance ranges are wider than typical ranges and coincide with the operation ramp up activities over the three-year optimization period. Upon completion of Hudbay’s optimization activities, 2027 copper production is expected to be 60,000i tonnes, representing a 127% increase from 2024. 2027 expected copper production is also 20% higher than the production in the most recent technical report as a result of the deferral of higher grades from 2026 to 2027 in connection with the current accelerated stripping schedule.