Chile roundup: Marimaca project, Enami plant and CMP's LNG truck

Marimaca copper project 

Canada's Marimaca Copper expects to obtain permits in the third quarter to develop the US$285mn Marimaca copper project in Chile’s Antofagasta region, as it prepares the feasibility study and community engagement. The initiative aims to produce 50,000t/y by 2030.

Under Digbee's ESG standard for the mining industry, Marimaca upgraded its financial compliance rating from ‘BBB’ in 2022 to ‘A’, the Vancouver-based company said in a statement this week.

However, the project depends on the ability to raise financing, where options such as the issuance of capital or new debt, and the eventual sale of assets or mining property rights, are not ruled out, the company reported in March.

In addition to having easy access to regional infrastructure, such as power lines and highways, being 25km from the port of Mejillones and 45km from the city of Antofagasta, Marimaca will favor the consumption of recycled seawater, will have an operation based on SX-EW processing that does not require discharge of wet tailings and will be low in carbon intensity since its processes do not involve smelting or refining of concentrates, the company says.

Enami electrowinning plant

Chile’s state minerals company Enami invested US$2mn in an electrowinning facility for the oxide line of its Matta plant, located in Atacama region, which will allow it to double the production of copper cathodes to 600t/m for at least 10 more years.

Refined copper production began on Wednesday, marking the restart of operations that had been halted since December 2023 due to the deterioration of its facilities that had affected the quality of the cathodes and impacted the profitability of the asset, Enami said in a statement.

Matta processes minerals it receives from small local miners and is the largest of Enami's plants with capacity to treat 100,000t/m of sulfide minerals and 48,000t/m of oxide ore.

CMP and Engie LNG truck

Minera del Pacífico (CMP) and electric power company Engie began piloting a 220t CAEX extraction truck that will be powered by a dual fuel power system that uses mostly liquefied natural gas (LNG) and to a lesser extent diesel to decarbonize operations at the Los Colorados iron ore mine in Atacama region.

The alliance between the companies was launched in 2022 with the purpose of reducing emissions by between 15% and 25%, and those of particulate matter by more than 30%, the iron producer said in a statement this week.

The pilot phase will last four months to analyze the operation and performance of the truck, in addition to evaluating the feasibility of modifying the entire CMP fleet, according to the company.

The company looks to extend the useful life of Los Colorados from 2034 to 2050 through new mining phases and an electromobility plan that has incorporated electric shovels, as well as electric trucks and buses to transport personnel.

Los Colorados produces 7.2Mt of preconcentrate destined for a pellet plant operated by CMP in the same Huasco municipality.