By Nathan Gill

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) — Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SA, Peru’s biggest precious-metals miner, rose to its highest in more than a year in Lima trading on a rally in gold prices and the outlook for its La Zanja mine.

The Lima-based gold and silver miner advanced for a second day, gaining 7.3 percent to $33.81, the highest price since June 2008.

Gold rallied, extending gains and approaching a record, on concerns a global economic recovery may stoke inflation, boosting demand for the metal as an alternative investment to the dollar. Silver rose to a 13-month high.

“People are investing in stocks like Buenaventura because they hope that the price of gold will continue an upward trend,” Rodrigo Zuazo, an analyst with Centura SAB in Lima, said today in a telephone interview. “Buenaventura is positioned to continue showing favorable results” as new projects like La Zanja begin operations next year.

Exploration for gold at the company’s Chucapaca mine has “good long-term prospects,” Zuazo said. “While they haven’t announced the discovery of any new reserves, they’ve made it clear that this is where all of their attention is focused.”

La Zanja should produce about 100,000 ounces of gold per year when it begins operations in 2010, Zuazo said.