Rio2 Ltd has announced the celebration of the official start of construction of its Fenix Gold Mine located in the Maricunga Gold Belt of the Atacama Region.
The event held on February 6, was attended by the Honorable Aurora Williams Baussa, Minister of Mining; Mario Silva Álvarez, Deputy Governor of Atacama; Jorge Riesco Valdivieso, President of SONAMI (Chilean National Mining Society); representatives of the Colla Indigenous Communities; Regional Ministerial Secretaries; representatives of Mining and Industry Guilds and high authorities from InvestChile, CORPROA (The Corporation for the Development of the Atacama Region), and SERNAGEOMIN (National Service of Geology and Mining).
The event included remarks from the participating authorities and Andrew Cox, Rio2’s President & CEO.
As announced in a press release dated January 13, 2025, the company recommenced construction activities at the Fenix Gold Mine in October 2024 after successfully completing a debt and equity financing for the construction of the mine announced on October 29, 2024.
Bulk earthworks at the plant site have been completed and concrete bases for the footings of the processing plant have been poured. The ADR plant will be housed within a steel framed building cladded with modular thermo-acoustic panels.
Earthworks have commenced on the leach pad stability platform, which forms the base of the Phase 1 leach pad. The leach pad has been designed to be built in four phases over the 17-year mine life of the 20,000 t per day operations.
Excavation earthworks for the PLS pond have commenced adjacent to the ADR plant. The PLS pond will be lined with a double HDPE geomembrane liner system and have an installed capacity of 28,000 cubic metres. As determined by water balance modelling in the 2023 Fenix Gold feasibility study, a larger major events pond is currently planned to be built in year 6 of the mine operation.
A preliminary internal study completed by the Rio2 technical team has indicated that the Fenix Gold Mine has the potential to be expanded from its first phase 20,000 t per day ore mining rate to around 80,000 t per day. Increasing the ore mining rate to this level could see gold production rise from an initial rate of approximately 100,000 oz per annum to a target range of 250,000-300,000 oz per annum. To quantify and justify this potential expansion, Rio2 has initiated a mine expansion study with a target completion date by the end of 2025.
Also present at the event was STRACON Group CEO Steve Dixon. STRACON is a key contractor at Fenix Gold and in November 2024 commenced its initial construction activities. This contract, awarded in 2021, encompasses a range of critical infrastructure activities for the project, including the development of access roads, haul roads, platforms, ponds, and leach pads. Additionally, it includes open-pit mining operations and the transportation of water to the site.
At the time the contractor stated: “This project represents a pivotal opportunity for STRACON to leverage our extensive experience in similar projects, positioning us as a strategic partner in responsible and sustainable mining. With a focus on operational efficiency and adherence to the highest safety standards, we have resumed this collaborative contract, combining all efforts to ensure the progress and success of the Fenix Gold project. Through this partnership with Rio2, we reaffirm our commitment to advancing responsible mining and delivering operational excellence, which defines every one of our initiatives. Our involvement in the Fenix Gold project not only strengthens our presence in Chile but also contributes to the sustainable growth and development of the mining industry in the region.”
