Advanced Mining Projects
© Special Report by Rojas & Asociados
A wide range of projects, from diverse sizes and minerals are in advanced stages of development. The following projects can be highlighted:
Pascua- Lama Project, Barrick Gold Corp.
The gold-silver Pascua-Lama Project is a cross-border property located in the highly prospective Frontera District, which straddles Chile’s 3rd Region and Argentina’s San Juan Province. The project lies within the area subject to the Mining Treaty signed into law in 2004 between Argentina-Chile. With proven reserves of 18 M oz. of gold, 731 M oz. of silver y 662 M lb. of copper, the Project is being designed as an open-pit operation, centered at an elevation of 4,600 meters. The gold, silver and copper mineralization is part of a mineralised acid sulphate system that was structurally controlled within intrusive and volcanic rock sequences of Upper Paleozoic and Middle Tertiary age.
Mining life span is estimated of over 23 years, with an investement of over US$2,300 M. Pascua-Lama has already received the approval from both Chilean and Argentine governments, and both countries have agreed on the application of taxes.
The construction is scheduled to start in September 2009.
Source: adapted from http://www.barrick.com/
Casposo Project, Troy Resources NL
Casposo is a typical Low Sulphidation epithermal style gold–silver deposit where mineralisation is hosted within rhyolite – andesite flows and breccias. Veins are typically banded quartz–chalcedony colloform – crustiform banded with quartz – carbonate infill. Mineralisation is associated with an assemblage consisting of quartz, chalcedony, adularia, calcite, illite, sericite and trace sulphides. Gold and silver occur as electrum, native silver, sulfosalts and silver sulphides.
With Casposo, Troy will look to similarly fast track development to bring it into production as quickly as possible and expect to utilise some or all of the gold plant they have in storage in Cobar, New South Wales, to lower the capital cost and time of the mine development.
The scheduled time for the start of construction is september 2009, with production commencing in the second semester of 2010.
Source: adapted from http://www.try.com.au/
El Pachón Project, Xstrata Copper.
El Pachon is a copper molybdenum deposit located in the SW of San Juan province, Argentina, 5 km from the border with Chile, right in front the copper mine of Los Pelambres, in Chile’s 4th region, at 3,600 masl. It is a cross-border mining Project, being developed under the auspices of the Chilean-Argentinean Mining Treaty.
El Pachon has an estimated investment of US$1,900 M. Final prefeasibility is completed, with annual production estimated in 245,000 tonnes of copper with a mining life span of over 20 years.
The company is currently evaluating the prefeasibility study.
Source: adapted from http://www.elpachon.com/en_project_background.php
Agua Rica Project, Yamana Gold Inc
The Agua Rica deposit is located about 34 km from the Alumbrera mine in northwest Argentina, where the climate is generally mild and dry. The Project has been advanced to the point where the Company now believes it could bring Agua Rica into production within four years for significantly less than any comparable development. The project’s large metal inventory sits on the surface and is close to required infrastructure at Alumbrera that has the potential to dramatically reduce development costs.
The Agua Rica deposit is a large Cu-Mo-Au porphyry deposit with a polymetallic epithermal overprint. Three major stages of alteration/mineralization are clearly recognized: early porphyry Cu-Mo-Au, later epithermal Cu-Au-Ag-As-Pb-Zn, and supergene Cu enrichment.
The Project is 100% owned by Yamana Gold, and has an estimated mine life of 23 years. Minera Agua Rica submitted the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to the Province of Catamarca in July 2007.
Source: adapted from http://www.yamana.com/
Navidad Project, Pan American Silver Corp
The Navidad silver Project is located in Gastre, Chubut province, in southern Argentina. Smart exploration was the critical factor in 2007’s greatest achievement, which resulted in Aquiline doubling the mineral resource at Navidad. New discoveries such as Loma de La Plata and Barite Hill, both a result of the reinterpretation of the previous operator’s data, have now changed the face of the Project. At Loma de La Plata, the bulk of the silver mineralization occurs at depths within 150 metres of surface, favourable for open pit mining.
As reconnaissance exploration continues to add new zones to this exciting discovery, continued drilling will allow the calculation of expanded resources turning Navidad as one of the largest undeveloped silver resources in the world.
Aquiline was acquired by Pan American Silver in late 2009.
Source: adapted from http://www.panamericansilver.com/
Potasio Rio Colorado Project, Vale
Potasio Rio Colorado is located in Malargüe, in the south of Mendoza. It will produce potassium chloride for commercialization as fertilizer in the international markets. Argentina’s top buyer is likely to be neighbouring Brazil, the world’s No. 3 market for potash.
The Potasio Rio Colorado Project, straddling the border between Argentina’s west-central provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén, will produce between 1.6 million and 2.4 million tonnes of potash a year, with a potential to double production. An investment of over US$ 3,000 M is estimated to develop this resource, including the necessary infrastructure. From early 2004 studies on environmental, health, safety and community issues have been conducted. Construction will take two years and employ some 1,600 workers, with production ramping up in 2012. The mineral will be transported from the deposit to the port of Bahia Blanca, after crossing the provinces Mendoza, Río Negro, Neuquén, La Pampa and Buenos Aires.
Mendoza has recently provided its environmental approval, and other approvals are expected soon.
Source: adapted from http://www.potasioriocolorado.com/potasio_rio/index.php
San Jorge Project, Coro Mining Corp.
Located in west-central Argentina in the Province of Mendoza, the large (115,000 ha) San Jorge property lies approximately 45 km north of the town of Uspallata and 250 km northeast of Santiago, Chile.
San Jorge hosts a medium size copper gold porphyry deposit. The Company has completed a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on the leachable copper resources and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the flotable copper resources. In Q308, the Company filed the Environmental Impact Study (“EIS”) for its San Jorge copper-gold project, which was formally accepted to enter the evaluation process by the Secretary of the Environment of the Government of Mendoza.
Total measured and indicated resources at San Jorge add 194 Million metric tons at an average grade of 0.48% Cu and 0.21 oz/tone Au, meaning 2,050 M pounds Cu and 1,300 oz Au.
Coro has an Option to purchase 100% of San Jorge from Lumina Copper by making further staged payments of $15.15 mm on or before May 2013.
Source: adapted from http://www.coromining.com/s/SanJorge.asp
