The combined company was able to use Yamana's access to capital with Santa Elina development properties to bring the Chapada mine into production.

[5] Minera Yamana was founded on March 19, 1994, headquartered in Toronto and headed by Victor Bradley as chief executive officer (CEO), as a mineral exploration company focused on properties within Argentina.

The company acquired and assessed numerous mineral properties in South America and Indonesia until 2000 when it settled on developing a silver mine in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

However, the company was unable to manage the development phase and was forced to sell the property in April 2002 to avoid bankruptcy.

[9] Along with Northern Orion Resources, the company spent 2007 engaged in a hostile takeover of Meridian Gold.

[14] By 2018, the company had accumulated a high debt load of US$1.6 billion, mostly from Canadian Malartic, and taken criticism from industry analysts and shareholders for its excessive executive compensation packages.