i've highlighted the portion of acquisitions
Hochschild sees £32 million exploration spend in 2011
LONDON | Mon Sep 6, 2010 1:38pm BST
LONDON (Reuters) - Latin American precious metals miner Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L) is looking to spend around $50 million (32 million pounds) on exploration again next year as it continues to focus on developing new projects and move away from acquisitions.
The London-listed miner set aside $50 million (32 million pounds) to spend on its exploration pipeline this year and has also lifted the resource life of its main operations by 11 percent to 7.9 years.
"We are in the process of preparing our budget, but I would not rule out having a similar budget in 2011," Chief Executive Ignacio Bustamante told Reuters in an interview.
"Since our results are so positive we believe that it serves a lot of merit to continue along that path."
A $50 million (32 million pounds) exploration budget would be financed entirely by current operations.
Hochschild has raised its number of 'company makers' projects, those which have the potential of producing 20-30 million silver equivalent ounces per year, to six from two at the end of last year.
Drilling has started on three of these projects and the company is deciding on a drilling plan for the others next year.
"Drilling is progressing well we are obtaining good results but it is still an early stage," said Bustamante.
link https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6851JT20100906