Chile’s Minister of Mining Marcela Hernando said during the agency’s investigation into a sinkhole that has formed at Lundin Mining’s Chilean unit Ojos del Salado that the event was caused by “overexploitation” and excessive mining at the site. Work is continuing to determine the origin of cracks close to the subsidence and any potential impact to an aquifer near the…
Read MoreHochschild Mining has confirmed it has been granted a key environmental permit authorization for the construction of a processing plant at its Mara Rosa gold project in the Goiás state, Brazil, along with mine pre-stripping activity. The Goiás state’s environmental authority the State Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainable Development (SEMAD)’s permit also allows construction of all the required site…
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The Ministry of Energy and Mines in Peru (MINEM) has just commenced its fourth round of face-to-face workshops geared toward its formalized small mining and artisanal mining operators in the Puno region. MINEM said the education is focused on performing sustainable activities and has so far trained 1,057 operators in 10 regions of the country: Madre de Dios, Puno, Arequipa,…
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Canadian-based Wealth Minerals has entered into a strategic partnership with thyssenkrupp Mining Technologies for the development of its Ollagüe Salar lithium exploration project in northern Chile. The first stage of the partnership will entail the identification, evaluation and selection of technology for lithium extraction and purification of Ollagüe. The development of the preliminary flowsheet and layouts, including brine testing and…
Read MoreOfficials from Chile’s National Geology and Mining Service agency Sernageomin has ordered the suspension of operations at Lundin Mining’s Minera Ojos del Salado complex after a sinkhole developed at the Alcaparrosa underground copper mine, part of the Candelaria operation. The sinkhole, which has most recently measured 50 meters in diameter and 200 meters deep but appears to be stable, has…
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Metso Outotec has been awarded a contract to deliver sustainable grinding technology to an undisclosed iron ore project producing premium pellet feed in South America. The total value of the order is more than EUR10 million. The OEM said it has been booked in Minerals’ Q2 2022 orders received. Scope of delivery consists of the engineering, manufacturing and supply of…
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Chilean miner Antofagasta has confirmed it will start operations at its new desalination plant – part of its $2.2 billion expansion of the Los Pelambres complex – this year, as facility construction is 86% complete and marine works are 87% done. The plant at the port of Punta Chungo, Los Vilos, was designed for water management amid an extensive drought…
Read MoreChilean state-owned miner Codelco is putting the brakes on its copper projects after two of its workers were killed in less than a month. According to a Reuters report, the fatalities were reported at the Rajo Inca and Chuquo Subterranea projects. In the former, which occurred on 18 July, a truck driven by a contractor slid off a platform at…
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Peru’s largest copper operation Antamina is hoping to get the green light for an extension of its mine life to 2036 from environmental authorities by early next year, the company’s chief executive officer has reportedly said. Antamina CEO Victor Gobitz told Reuters that it is hoping to get that approval by early next year for an expansion project it first…
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Komatsu and subsidiary Komatsu Cummins Chile have partnered with Chilean state-owner miner Codelco to trial a new tunnel excavation method for underground hard rock mining using Komatsu’s newly developed Mining Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The trail will begin in 2024 at Codelco’s Chuquicamata mine just outside of Calama in northern Chile, a property that is situated at 2,850 metres (9,350…
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