The El Morro mine is one of the largest gold mines in Chile and in the world.[1] The mine is located in the north of the country in the Atacama Region.[1] The mine has estimated reserves of 6.7 million oz of gold. The mine also holds reserves amounting to 449.5 million tonnes of ore grading 0.49% copper.[1]

El Morro mine
Location
RegionAtacama Region
CountryChile
Production
ProductsCopper
Gold
Molybdenum
Owner
CompanyNewmont (50%)
Teck (50%)

Contractors who have worked in this mine are Hatch, AMEC, Fluor Corporation, Bechtel. Siemens was awarded to do electrical engineering. [2]

A 70% ownership stake was sold by Xstrata to Barrick Gold for $465 million USD in 2009, with the remaining 30% owned by New Gold Inc.[3]

Development of the mine was initially halted in 2012 due to a lack of consultation with the local indigenous Diaguita community, but in 2014 a Chilean appeals ruled the project could proceed.[4] This was then overturned by the Supreme Court of Chile later that year.[5][6]

In 2015, the mine was combined with the nearby Relincho project to a single venture called NuevaUnión split 50-50 between Goldcorp and Teck.[7] Goldcorp was merged with Newmont in 2019.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "El Morro - Overview & Operating Highlights". goldcorp.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  2. ^ "El Morro Project". digiscend.com. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Xstrata Agree $465m Sale of Chilean El Morro Project to Barrick Gold". Proactiveinvestors NA. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  4. ^ "Big win for Goldcorp's $3.9 billion El Morro mine in Chile". MINING.COM. 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  5. ^ "Chile suspends Goldcorp's El Morro mine - Environment News". Al Jazeera. 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  6. ^ "Update 1-Goldcorp's El Morro mine halted by Chile Supreme Court". Reuters. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  7. ^ "Newmont, Teck to invest $152m in Chilean copper-gold project". mining.com. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2022-07-23.