Halo Minerals (AIM:HALO) has filed an application for authorisation to conduct mining activities on the Playa Verde Project in Chile.
Subject to permit approval, Halo is on track to begin site works at Playa Verde before the end of 2026.
CEO Andrew Dennan says the filing of this application is a key regulatory step required to start operations at Playa Verde.
“With the project’s environmental approval already secured, this filing follows the sequence of remaining regulatory consents to enable operations,” Dennan says.
“Playa Verde is a unique opportunity to reprocess metal-rich historic tailings to produce LME-grade copper cathodes and a copper-gold concentrate from an at-surface, low-capex project in a tier one mining jurisdiction, whilst delivering meaningful environmental detoxification to the Chañaral Bay area.”
The application relates to the project located on the beach in the Atacama region of Chile. The beach hosts mineralised sands with copper content derived from historical tailings discharged into the Salado River basin where the project has a defined resource of 53 million tonnes @ 0.24% copper, including an ore reserve of 32 million tonnes @ 0.25% copper.
In early April, Halo Minerals contracted BIOS Mining & Infrastructure to position the project toward a final investment decision. BIOS Mining & Infrastructure will conduct a mineral processing plant flowsheet design review and optimisation studies.
The scope of work includes evaluating a complementary process circuit to reduce arsenic levels in final tailings to support compliance with commitments under the project’s approved environmental impact assessment.
BIOS Mining & Infrastructure will also review the flowsheet more generally and provide suggestions on ways that this can be optimised for efficiencies and potential to reduce overall capital expenditure spend.
Playa Verde is to be mined using an electric single-wheeled suction dredge ore processed via leaching. Flotation is targeting 5 million tonnes per year of ore processed, with a 14,000 tonnes per day capacity with 72% copper recovery.
Halo Minerals is focused on producing key strategic and battery metals through the reprocessing of low-risk, metal-rich, surface-accumulated legacy mining waste projects.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Halo Minerals
