Resource World Magazine

46 www.resourceworld.com o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 miNiNG Goldcorp and Teck combine chilean projecTs Goldcorp. Inc. [G-TSX; GG-NYSE] and Teck Resources Ltd. [TCK.B-TSX; TCK- NYSE] have agreed to combine their respective El Morro and Relincho proj- ects, located approximately 40 km apart in Huasco province, Atacama region, Chile, into a 50/50 joint venture. The combined project will have the interim name of Project Corridor. "Combining these two neighbouring assets is a common-sense approach that allows us to consolidate infrastructure to reduce costs, reduce the environmen- tal footprint and provide greater returns over either stand-alone project," said "Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck. Through Project Corridor, we will work to establish meaningful relationships with the community, indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders that will help guide the project's development and create greater value for all parties." "The combination of El Morro and Relincho is consistent with our focus on maximizing value from our asset port- folio," said Chuck Jeannes, President and CEO of Goldcorp. "We now have an improved development approach that we expect to significantly decrease ini- tial capital requirements and increase financial returns, while ensuring the project is developed in partnership with our neighbours, creating lasting ben- efits for residents in the region and our shareholders." Based on the results of a preliminary eco- nomic assessment (PEA), Project Corridor contemplates a conveyor to transport ore from the El Morro site to a single-line mill at the Relincho site. Goldcorp expects that this approach will provide a number of key benefits, including: Reduced environmental footprint: Project Corridor will reduce infrastructure requirements, including utilizing a single desalination plant, a single port, a single transmission line, a single concentrator and a common tailings facility. As a result, the environmental footprint of Project Corridor will be significantly less than the combined footprint of the stand-alone projects. Lower-cost, improved capital effi- ciency: Common infrastructure will significantly reduce project capital costs and continuing operating costs. Further, the PEA contemplates a phased devel- opment approach that will allow future expansions to be financed from project cash flows, thus significantly reducing the initial financing requirement. As a result, the initial capital cost to bring Project Corridor into production is targeted to be US $3.5 billion, with further capital required to construct future phases being financed largely from project cash flows. The feasibility studies of the stand-alone El Morro Project and stand-alone Relincho Project had previously estimated devel- opment costs at US $3.9 billion in 2011 dollars and US $4.5 billion in 2013 dollars, respectively. Optimized mine plan: Project Corridor is one of the largest undeveloped cop- per-gold-molybdenum projects in the Americas. The integrated project allows for the optimization of both resources, result- ing in a longer mine life of at least 32 years, based on existing proven and probable reserves, with the scope for further exten- sions given the significant exploration potential across the combined property. Initial stage development contemplates a single-line mill and concentrator facil- ity with an initial capacity in the range of 90,000-110,000 tpd to produce an aver- age of about 190,000 tonnes copper and 315,000 oz gold/year over the first full 10 years. Enhanced community benefits: Project Corridor is expected to provide significant economic benefits to the local region. An estimated 4,000 jobs will be created dur- ing the construction phase and 1,400 jobs during operation. Community engagement: Project Corridor will undertake extensive engage- ment with communities, indigenous peoples and other stakeholders to help guide the project's development. In combination with community con- sultation, a prefeasibility study is expected to start in early 2016 and be completed in 12 to 18 months. Assuming a positive prefeasibility study, a feasibility study would be initiated thereafter. Goldcorp's El Morro Project had proven and probable reserves of 8.9 mil- lion oz gold and 6.5 billion lbs copper as of December 31, 2014. Teck's Relincho Project had proven and probable reserves of 10.1 billion lbs copper and 464 million lbs molybdenum as of December 31, 2014. Proven and probable reserves of Project Corridor would contain some 16.6 billion lbs copper, 8.9 million oz gold and 464 million lbs molybdenum. Goldcorp also agreed to acquire New Gold's 30% interest in El Morro $90 mil- lion in cash upon closing, along with a 4% gold stream on future gold production. banks island shuTs down Yellow GianT mine Banks Island Gold Ltd. [BOZ-TSXV] has provided an update on the status at the company's 100%-owned Yellow Giant gold mine, located on Banks Island, off the northwest coast of British Columbia. The company announced it has suspended all operations at the Yellow Giant Mine as at July 31, 2015, and will put the mine into care and maintenance until permitting and regulatory issues at the project are resolved and the company has sufficient working capital to recommence operations. n

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