📋 Tender Overview
Location Rocin Rriver valley
Scope :
The development of the Vizcachitas project is estimated to require an initial capital investment of $2.44bn.
The Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum project includes the development of an open-pit mine situated in the central Andes of Chile. It is recognised as one of the most significant advanced copper deposits in the Americas.
Los Andes Copper is the owner and developer of the project. The prefeasibility study of the project was completed in February 2023.
The development of the Vizcachitas project is estimated to require an initial capital investment of $2.44bn, with construction planned for the period between 2027 and 2029. First copper production is anticipated in 2029. The operational mine life is estimated to be 26 years.
Vizcachitas aims for a daily throughput of 136,000 tonnes (t), targeting an annual copper output of 183,000t over the initial eight years.
Ecora closed a $20m agreement to purchase a 0.25% net smelter return royalty over all metal production from the open pit of the project in August 2023.
Project location
The Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum project is located in the Andean mountains within the Rocin river valley, approximately 150km north-east of Santiago, Chile, and 46km north-east of Putaendo in the San Felipe province.
Geology and mineralisation
Geologically, the project lies within the north-south oriented Neogene metallogenic belt, known for its extensive copper-molybdenum porphyry deposits, which span the Andean slopes of Chile and Argentina. Notable deposits in the belt include Los Pelambres-El Pachon, Rio Blanco-Los Bronces, and El Teniente, situated at varying distances from Vizcachitas.
The site comprises a complex array of porphyries and hydrothermal breccias, intruding into volcanic rocks of the Abanico formation, dating back to the Eocene-Oligocene epoch.
Mineralisation at the site exhibits a classic zonation pattern, with a leached zone overlying a secondary enrichment zone characterised by chalcocite and covellite of varying intensity.
Reserves
The proven and probable reserves at the Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum project are estimated at 1,220t, grading 0.36% copper, 136ppm molybdenum and 1.1 grams per tonne of silver as of March 2023. The total contained metal is estimated at 9,623 million pounds of copper, 365 million pounds of molybdenum, and 43.6 million ounces of silver.
Mining methodology
The proposed mining method for the Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum project, based on the copper and molybdenum grades, is open-pit mining method.
The operational framework encompasses internal processes such as drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, and earthworks, supplemented by select external services. Mining operations will be carried out in 15m benches with a total of ten benches mined per year.
The operating mine design will encompass 12 phases, cumulatively amounting to 1,421t of ore with an average copper grade of 0.35%, and 4,325 m
