CHILE – Goldcorp of Toronto is buying out its 30% partner, New Gold, at the El Morro copper-gold project. A 50/50 joint venture will be then created with the Relincho copper-molybdenum project belonging to Teck Resources of Vancouver. The two projects are about 40 km apart in the Atacama region.
First, New Gold has agreed to sell its El Morro interest for US$90 million plus a 4% gold stream when the project goes into production. New Gold will pay US$400 per oz of gold delivered under the contract.
By creating a joint venture called “Project Corridor,” Teck and Goldcorp will be able to advance El Morro and Relincho as a single project. Ore from El Morro would be delivered via conveyor for treatment at the Relincho mill. The plan allows the environmental footprint to be smaller, the optimization of the mine plan, and improved capital efficiency resulting in lower costs.
Project Corridor will create 4,000 jobs during construction, and many of them will be filled locally. The plan also extends the planned mine life, a further benefit to the community. It also improves returns over the life of the project.
Read the joint corporate presentation about Project Corridor here or visit ProyectoCorredor.cl.
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