Latin America-focused Atico Mining has received approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the construction and operations of its high-grade La Plata VMS project in Ecuador. The La Plata project plan consists of a 900-t/d underground mining operation with state-of-the-art infrastructure, including a filtered tailings facility – a first of its kind in Ecuador. This technology, already used at Atico’s…
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Horizonte breaks ground at Araguaia
Nickel developer Horizonte Minerals has kicked off construction at its flagship Araguaia project in Para state, northern Brazil. The company is now entering a 24-month construction period with its Stage 1 targeting production of 14,500 tonnes per year. It has already awarded most of its crucial long-lead equipment contracts, including the project’s furnace in late February, earthworks earlier this month…
Read MoreBHP opens US$2.46 billion copper concentrator at Spence
Global miner BHP inaugurated a new copper concentrator plant on May 13 at its Spence operation in northern Chile, which will extend the life of the mine for another 50 years. The project required an investment of US$2.46 billion and has a throughput of 95,000 t/d to produce copper concentrate and molybdenum concentrate. The miner said the project supports its…
Read MoreEquinox temporarily halts mining at RDM
Equinox Gold said it has stopped operations at its RDM mine in Brazil amid a delay in permits for the mine’s scheduled tailings storage facility raise. Discussions with regulatory officials are ongoing and its contractor for the work is ready to mobilize and begin working. Full operations, it added, could restart as early as two months after the approval is…
Read MoreHorizonte selects Copa for Araguaia earthworks
Brazil-focused Horizonte Minerals has awarded the earthworks contract for the construction of its 100%-owned Araguaia ferronickel project to Copa Construção S.A. Araguaia is a Tier 1 mining project with a high-grade scalable resource, located south of the Carajás Mining District in the state of Pará, northern Brazil. Horizonte said it will use an open pit mining method, transporting its nickel-ore…
Read MoreState mining rights falls short in Chilean vote
A proposal to give Chile exclusive mining rights over lithium, hydrocarbons and rare earth metals as well as majority ownership of copper mines in the country has failed to pass the constitutional assembly, reported Reuters. The proposal, which faced strong opposition from the country’s mining industry, needed a supermajority of 103 votes to be included into the draft of a…
Read MoreLundin closes Josemaria acquisition
Canadian-based Lundin Mining has confirmed the close of its takeover of Josemaria Resources and the Josemaria operation in Argentina, which is also making progress with the recent regulatory approval of its environmental social impact assessment. Read full article.
Read MoreDeny Anglo American extension permit: Chilean regulator
Photo: Anglo American A Chilean environmental regulator has recommended that Anglo American’s permit application to extend its Los Bronces copper project not be granted. The global miner said the Environmental Assessment Service of Chile (SEA) confirmed that the $3.3 billion project “satisfies all relevant environmental regulation but bases its adverse recommendation on an alleged lack of information during the evaluation…
Read MoreCodelco partners on creation of free carbon footprint calculator
Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, has announced the development of a free-to-use platform for mining suppliers to calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to decarbonize the industry. The Chilean miner has partnered with the Bank Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Alta Ley Corporation, and the Association of Industrial Mining Suppliers (Aprimin) on the project. Codelco said the…
Read MoreSouthern Copper keeping doors closed on Cuajone
Miner Southern Copper said its Cuajone operation in Peru remains idled as it enters a seventh week of a standoff with Indigenous community protestors. The company told Reuters just before Easter that, nationwide, the protesting communities are accusing operators of not providing enough jobs and money to impoverished locals. Southern Copper has reportedly accused Peru’s government of failing to intervene…
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