Nativo Resources has published research setting out the business case for its proposed La Patona gold processing plant in Peru, benchmarking the project against established operators in the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector.
The precious metals company said the analysis, which it generated internally and released for illustrative purposes, points to operating margins of 10-13% for the “asset-light” model of buying and processing ore rather than mining it.
It cited two comparator, the TSX-listed Dynacor, which reported US$397.6m of revenue at a 12.4% gross margin in 2025, and the private Paltarumi, on around US$268m of revenue and an 11.6% EBITDA margin, as evidence the economics hold at scale.
La Patona is designed to be built in phases, starting at about 70 tonnes per day and scaling to a 350 tpd full buil, the same size as Paltarumi. Nativo said the plant would combine purchased ore with its own material as a feed backstop, and follow LBMA-aligned governance and traceability standards from the outset.
Alongside the benchmark note, Nativo published an independent study of local ore supply, commissioned through two field studies.
The study estimated roughly 1,500 to 3,000 active small-scale producers in the plant’s immediate area, and found at least one willing, subject to terms, to supply around 30 tonnes a day, close to half of planned first-phase throughput, though that commitment is indicative rather than contracted and the ore grade is unverified.
The study concluded that ore is genuinely available in the region but that the market is fragmented and intermediary-led, with producers choosing buyers mainly on payment speed and trust.
Stephen Birrell, Chief Executive Officer of Nativo, said: “The ore-purchasing, asset-light gold processing model has been proven at institutional scale in Peru. Dynacor and Paltarumi together demonstrate US$260-400 million of revenue, 10-13% operating margins, and sustainable competitive positions – without owning a mine. Soleil Metals’ OCIM restart demonstrates that LBMA-aligned, digitally traceable operations are now achievable in the Peruvian ASM sector. The market is real, the benchmarks are robust, and the governance standard has been set.
La Patona intends to enter this market with three structural advantages that distinguish it from existing operators: own-ore feed security (the critical de-risking factor absent from Inca One), LBMA-aligned governance from inception (positioning for premium refinery offtake), and a lean 65-100 person workforce that produces modelled human capital metrics are structurally superior to all current comparators.
At the same time, the independent ore-supply study gives our shareholders a clear, evidence-based view of the ore-supply market around La Patona. It confirms that the ore is there, and sets out a realistic, phased pathway to bring the plant to capacity. Importantly, it is candid about the commercial challenge of securing supply in a competitive market – and about the steps we intend to take to meet it.