Chilean–Argentine Copper, Gold and Silver Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- Argentina’s mining minister, Jorge Mayoral, met with Chile’s mining authorities during August 30 and 31 in Santiago de Chile, so as to agree on the advances of the projects involved in the bi-national mining treaty signed between those two countries in 1996.

There are four main projects involved in the treaty: Pascua Lama Gold, Las Flechas copper-gold, Vicuna copper-gold and El Pachon copper. Three of these projects are located in the Chile-Argentina border; however, even though, El Pachon is placed in Argentinean territory, its location is part of the territory previously embraced in the bi-national mining treaty.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX ) is currently operating the $2.4 billion Pascua Lama gold project. According to the Canadian company’s representatives, since they are working hard to meet development deadlines and obtain permits from Chile and Argentina, Barrick expects to begin the project in the first quarter of 2008. During the first five years, Pascua Lama is to have a production capacity of 775,000 of gold and 35,000 of silver per year.

Tenke Mining’s subsidiaries (NYSE:US:TNKDF ) Desarrollo de Prospectos Mineros SA in Argentina and Minera Frontera de Oro in Chile are planning to invest in Las Flechas copper-gold project, located in Northern San Juan province (Argentina) and Huasco province in Region III (Chile) $6.8 million and in Vicuna project in San Juan’s Iglesia department and Copiaco province also in region III $5 million. Through such investment, the Canadian company and its subsidiaries are to set up camps, drilling, geophysical studies and sampling. Argentina has already granted the necessary permission to create the pass on the Argentine side to facilitate exploration at Vicuna; Tenke expects to receive the same permission from Chile’s Government.

Xstrata Minerals (NYSE:XTA ) is operating the El Pachon located in the Argentinean province of San Juan. Investment on this copper project has been estimated in $1.9 billion and the Swiss company has recently announced that the studies to determine the activities onsite will be finished by mid January 2008.

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