Overview
El Peñón Mill
EL PEÑÓN, CHILE
The El Peñón processing facility located 15 km from the Farellon mine was built to recover copper, gold, and iron in support of the mineralized material produced at Farellon. The 5,000 tonne/month facility is designed to reduce overall processing costs by 33% and trucking costs by 75% as well as provide additional revenue through the capture of gold in the copper concentrate and through the production of a second concentrate containing magnetic iron with grades expected >65% Fe.
As part of Altiplano's commitment toward reducing its environmental impact, the El Peñón Mill will produce only dry tailings through a dry stack dewatering and recycling process, that uses 75% less water than a standard, similarly sized mill. The process eliminates the need for a conventional tailings dam where final tails can be sold to the construction industry. The facility is state of the art and the first of its kind in the small scale Chilean processing sector.
The 9-hectare land package is ideally located only 3 km from a major road (D-43) with access to nearby power, water, and the necessary infrastructure to support the facility's construction and future expansion opportunities.
Final permitting for construction was received in September 2021 and the company completed the installation of the Plant in Late Q2 2023. Final adjustments have been made to the crushing, milling, and flotation circuits designed to enhance productivity and optimize concentrate production. This work focuses on improving performance of these systems and to adapt to the specific mineralogy of the copper-gold-iron material deposits. Copper-gold sales of concentrates began in July 2024.
The above video is a conceptual representation of the mill design. The final facility on completion may vary.