After more than 2 years of environment impact assessment, the Commission of Environment Assessment of the Atacama region gave yesterday the green light to the copper and gold project of El Morro mine in the municipality of Alto del Carmen, fact that is considered as a “transcendental step” for the startup of what will be the first deposit operated by the Canadian company Goldcorp in Chile. In spite of extracting 200,000 tons of fine copper a year, its key will be the gold with 60 000 ounces.

Source: Diario Financiero

15/03/2011. As confirmed by the owner of the mining company, who contemplated a huge investment of US$ 2.5 billions, which consisted in an open pit exploitation of copper and gold mineral. The field’s reserves ascended to 450 millions of tons of mineral, with a grade of 0.58% copper per ton and 0.47% of gold per ton, the company detailed.

In particularly, the annual extraction of copper will reach 200 000 tons, allowing to talk about a world class deposit. Though the firm anticipates that gold will be the project’s key, and that the deposit will allow the extraction of 60 000 ounces a year.

The Project design

El Morro will be the first major project of the country which contemplates the construction of a plant to supply the desalinised sea water in its operation, in spite of being at 4000 meters of altitude, signalled the firm. This plant will be located in Punta Totoral and from there the deposit will be pumped, distant by about 200 kilometres.

In this sense, Horacio Bruna, Goldcorp’s CEO in Chile, specified that this “implies not using the water of the source Río Huasco”, which aim is to benefit to the agricultural communities existing in the area. With the same purpose, the project implies the construction of a proper path, through the Quebrada Algarrobal.

Though, additionally, the plans considered a new distinct technology for the treatment of residue, through the system “deposit of thick residue”, which, contrary to the traditional tanks, permits its retention in form of paste, reducing the risk of leak of spillage, increasing the security.

El Morro mining belongs 70% to Goldcorp and 30% to New Gold. At the beginning of last year, New Gold acquired for US$ 463 millions the main stake of its first owner Xstrate, to sell it later to the Canadian firm for US$50 millions, situation which generated conflicts with Barrick Gold, who was also interested in the business.