Vancouver — Brazilian-based Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) and London-based Antofagasta Plc have agreed to team up to explore 60,000 sq km in southern Peru.
The joint venture dubbed Cordillera de las Minas S.A (Cordillera) will focus on advancing projects near Cuzco. Currently Antofagasta’s subsidiary Anaconda Peru holds a 99.9% stake, while a subsidiary of CVRD holds 0.1%. Under the joint venture agreement, CVRD can acquire a 50% stake by spending US$6.7 million over three years.
The move is part of CVRD’s strategic initiative to broaden its operations beyond Brazil, where after 12 years of production, the company recently stopped mining gold at its Igarape Bahia mine in Carajas. The operation produced a total of 3.1 million oz of gold. The on site beneficiation plant, which was previously used for the production of gold, will be adapted to copper processing for the underlying copper-gold deposit. A prefeasibility study envisions the annual production of 36,000 tons of copper and 83,600 oz of gold. Development is expected to start in mid-2003. A copper deposit called Alemao, with an annual production capacity estimated at 150,000 tons per year of copper concentrate and 218,600 oz per year of gold is located below this deposit. CVRD forecasts that the Alemao project will be commissioned in 2006.
CVRD’s expects to produce 305,400 ozs of gold in 2002 from its Fazenda Brasileiro mine in Bahia state and the Itabira operation in Minas Gerais state. This marks a significant drop from the 514,400 oz produced in 2001.
The development of the Carajas projects is estimated to lift gold production to 950,000 oz per year by 2007.
Be the first to comment on "CVRD eyes Peru"