PROPERTY & LOCATION
Fenix Gold Project (37,291 ha) is located in the Atacama Region, in the Copiapó Province - Chile, specifically in the Maricunga Mineral Belt, approximately 160 kilometers northeast of Copiapó by International Road CH-31. It is the largest undeveloped gold oxide heap leach project in the Americas
The Maricunga Mineral Belt is a well-known mining district that contains over 70 million ounces of gold and hosts the La Coipa and Refugio mines, as well as the Volcan, Caspiche, Lobo Marte and Cerro Casale deposits.
Fenix Gold is located approximately 20 km south of Kinross Gold’s La Coipa Au-Ag mine, 60 km north of Kinross’s Maricunga Gold Mine and 40 km north of Hochschild’s, Volcan Gold Project.
There are no significant population centers near Fenix Gold. There are a small number of indigenous families within communities who raise crops and livestock in areas of the valleys that drain the region, but none in the immediate vicinity of the Project.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
MINERAL RESOURCES & RESERVES
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Measured + Indicated >> 4.8 MOZ
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Inferred >> 1 MOZ
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Proven + Probable >> 1.8 MOZ
*Resources include reserves
INVESTMENT
USD 117 MM Initial
USD 88 MM Sustaining
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
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Construction > 1200 approx.
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Operation > 800 approx.
TOTAL PRODUCTION
1.32 million ounces
PROJECT LIFE
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Construction: 1 year
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Operation: 16.2 years
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Closing: 1 year
HEAD OFFICE
City of Copiapó
FEASIBILITY STUDY
PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDIES
Restated 2021
MILESTONES
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Development of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Fenix Gold began in 2019 and was submitted to the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) of Atacama in April 2020. Between 2020 and 2021, the Company successfully completed a citizen participation process (which consisted of two open houses to inform the public about the Project)and an Indigenous Consultation process with the six Colla indigenous communities.
In July 2022, the Environmental Impact Study for the Project was rejected. Rio2 maintained its conviction that during the environmental assessment process for the development of the Fenix Gold Project’s EIA, the Company provided all the information requested by the different agencies and addressed all the observations raised during the process, applying the highest technical standards, and, consequently, filed an administrative appeal before the Committee of Ministers in August 2022. In December 2023, the Committee of Ministers rated favorably the Fenix Gold Project, formally granting the Environmental Qualification Resolution in March 2024.