The world is more connected than ever, and mining technology and service companies are no exception. As they expand their reach globally, they need to follow their clients to new markets, from a copper mine high in the Andes to the icey cold winters of Northern Canada. When exploring new markets, it’s the classic “chicken or egg” dilemma: You want to see success before committing to the expenses of a local operation, but as soon as you start generating revenue, the risk of being classified as a PE increases.
At a time when the world needs to find more copper, there are only a few examples of junior exploration companies that have been able to make significant discoveries over the last 10 years in Chile. This is set to change with the recently released Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Hot Chile’s Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project.
We provide a summary of BHP’s Operational Decarbonisation Investor Briefing which outlines the company’s plans to reach net-zero emissions throughout its global operations by 2050. The plan provides some unique insights into the technology and path it will take to decarbonize its operations.
Lithium Americas announced this week that they have started production at its Cauchari-Olaroz Project located in northwest Argentina’s Jujuy province. The USD$979m lithium project is expected to produce 40,000t of battery-grade lithium carbonate over an estimated operational life of 40 years.
Last month, the Chilean government announced their long-awaited National Lithium Strategy. We have provided a recent “snapshot” of the Chilean Lithium Industry so that everyone can understand where it currently stands and where it goes from here.
Teck’s copper project pipeline keeps advancing. The USD$1.2B Zafranal copper project in Peru recently received environmental approvals paving the way for final engineering and construction approval. Check out our project spotlight for an overview.
Sierra Gorda started production in 2014 as a low-cost, low-grade copper operation. Unfortunately, it is the perfect example of how large-scale projects can be risky and not always operate as planned. After years of challenges, Sierra Gorda is on track, producing a record amount of copper, profitable, and has some exciting developments.
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