Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgrades Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) to "Neutral"

Similar to their upgrade of Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), after a long upward run by Buenaventura Mining (NYSE:BVN), they've finally increased their rating, this time from "Underperform" to "Neutral."

On March 25th the company was trading at $29.50, and has soared since then to over $55 a share as of Thursday, November 11.

Buenaventura, which primarily mines for gold and silver in Peru, closed Thursday at $55.92, gaining $0.68, or 1.23 percent. Volume on the day was a little more than half the 3-month average.

The company has a market cap of about $14.23 billion.

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI), Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) Gold Discovery

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) and Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) announced they have discovered a major gold deposit at their Chucapaca project in Peru.

There is an estimated 5.6 million gold equivalent ounces found, in the joint venture where Gold Fields holds a 51 percent stake and Buenaventura 49 percent.

The estimated amount of the deposit could be much larger, as there's a lot more exploration needed to cover the project area.

Pre-feasibility studies could start as early as July 2010.

The Chucapaca project or Canahuire deposit also holds a large amount of copper and silver, according to the companies.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM), Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) Investing in Minas Conga Project

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) and Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) reportedly may invest up to $3 billion in the Minas Conga project, according to Buenaventura's CEO Roque Benavides.

Benavides estimates production could reach 450,000 ounces of gold at Minas Conga, and that's referring to only direct operations.

Newmont Mining owns 51.35 percent of Minas Conga, while Buenaventura owns 43.7 percent.

Buenaventura and Newmont Mining among its most important copper and gold mining assets.