INERCO conducts the environmental studies to obtain the required administrative approval in the Pampa Camarones mining project, in the north of Chile

INERCO is the consultancy firm commissioned to conduct the environmental studies and to draw up reports and process the relevant permits to obtain the required environmental approval in the Pampa Camarones mining project, aimed at optimising and updating its processes and facilities, located in the Arica and Parinacota Region, in the north of Chile.

This project, with an investment of US$9,500 million and belonging to Minera Pampa Camarones, intends to extend areas and facilities of the mine and optimise the extraction process and method in relation to the Pampa Camarones Cathodes Plant and Salamanqueja Mine, as well as adding a new extraction area called Chacota Mine.

Specifically, this plan will optimise the existing mining method employed in the Salamanqueja Mine, using greater selectivity with the aim of obtaining a higher-grade mineral, since the Project intends to extract, from the Salamanqueja Mine, an additional average extraction rate of 250 tonnes per day, which, together with the amount approved by the EAD No. 33/2011, will result in a total 1,250 tonnes per day on average (equivalent to 37,500 tonnes per month) and an average of 500 tonnes of mineral per day (equivalent to 15,000 tonnes per month) will be extracted from the new extraction area of the Chacota Mine.

César Escobar, manager of INERCO Consulting Chile, highlights the importance of environmental factors in these types of mining projects, “which must comply with existing regulations without losing the innovation and optimisation capacity of the resources in the existing sites”. In this regard, it is vital to obtain expert environmental advice, “a key aspect not only for obtaining the relevant permits, but also for the future feasibility of the project”.

New aspects of the project

For extracting the mineral, the extraction method in the underground mines of Salamanqueja and Chacota, is to be optimised, improving the level of mineral selectivity with the aim of obtaining a higher-grade ore. This improvement is based on changing the selectivity method by combining the ‘Sub – Level Stopping (SLS)’ and ‘Bench and Fill’ methods.

In relation to the mineral extraction, the sterile dump of the Salamanqueja Mine will be extended and a new sterile dump will be incorporate for the Chacota Mine, in order to use the extracted mineral located below the cut-off grade by transporting it in trucks.

The extracted mineral will be transported in trucks to the Cátodos Plant sector, where it will be leached with sea water and sulphuric acid using leaching piles, to subsequently process the solutions obtained in the plant, with the aim of obtaining copper cathodes at the end of the process.

In relation to the mineral leaching process, this process also requires the leaching pile area to be extended and the leached waste dump and the consumption of sulphuric acid.