Capstone Copper Chile began drilling at sea for the future port of the Santo Domingo project, which will be located in the sector called Punta Roca Blanca, commune of Caldera, on the coast of the Atacama Region.
It is worth mentioning that the initiative, which has its respective environmental approval, is based on the exploitation of mineral reserves of copper and magnetite from open pits located in the Sierra de Santo Domingo, in the commune of Diego de Almagro. An investment of USD 2.3 billion is contemplated.
“We began drilling at sea for the future port of the Santo Domingo project. It will be key infrastructure for the project, as it will allow shipping the copper, iron and cobalt production from the operation,” reported the Chilean subsidiary of the Canadian mining company.
“On the coast of Atacama we are carrying out the maritime drillings that will provide us with geotechnical information on the seabed where the work will be located. These studies will be fundamental to define the type and number of piles that will support the dock, in addition to supporting the planning of its construction,” it added.
The objective of the Santo Domingo project is to produce copper and magnetite concentrate through open-pit mineral exploitation and its processing by conventional flotation and magnetic separation.
It is contemplated that it has a nominal capacity of 65,000 tons per day (tpd) of mineral for the first years of operation, according to what was set out in the general background information presented to the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA).
Regarding the Santo Domingo Port, the concentrate loading operations will be carried out via belts from the stockpile areas, which will pass through a 340-meter access bridge to reach the berth and the ship loader.
“The system will be closed to avoid dust emissions and the ship loading will be carried out directly into its hold,” according to what was stated in the executive summary of the mining company.
“The ships for loading magnetite concentrate will have a capacity of up to 250 thousand tons deadweight and an average frequency of 2 ships per month is expected. Meanwhile, the ships for loading copper concentrate will have a capacity of up to 60 thousand tons deadweight and a frequency at the port of one ship per month is expected,” it added.
The initiative also includes a buried pipeline – 112 km in length – to transport the magnetite concentrate from the Mine-Plant Area to the Santo Domingo Port.
In parallel, the pipeline that will transport non-desalinated seawater for the mining process from the port facility to the Mine-Plant Area will be located.
Meanwhile, the transport of copper concentrate will be carried out by trucks from the Concentrator Plant to the port itself, which will follow public roads, located parallel to the pipeline route.
Thus, Capstone Copper emphasized that the progress in drilling marks “a new milestone” in the development of the Santo Domingo project.
