Rio2 gold project in Chile on track for 2026 start | Australian Markets

Vancouver and Toronto-listed Rio2 Limited has made important progress at its Fenix Gold Project in the Maricunga belt in Chile’s Atacama area, with construction 41 per cent full as of June 30, conserving the company on track for first gold manufacturing in January 2026.

The company just lately acquired a US$50 million (A$78 million) third prepayment instalment from United States-based valuable metals investment firm Wheaton Precious Metals International, beneath a valuable metals buy settlement for Fenix.

The funding stream has been a continued robust endorsement of Rio2’s construction and development of its large oxide-hosted, heap leach gold project. The latest prepayment is a key marker alongside the project’s path in the direction of launching mine manufacturing by the top of the yr.

From October 2024 to June this yr, Rio2 has invested $56.4 million in the enterprise in opposition to a $57.8 million finances, excluding company overheads and 2022 pre-construction prices.

The 1514-strong workforce is 94 per cent Chilean, together with 41 per cent who hail from the encompassing Atacama, highlighting the company’s robust emphasis on native employment.

Construction milestones embody the set up of 12.7 hectares of geosynthetics and 4 hectares of over-liner materials on a leach pad, which the company expects will carry manufacturing by the primary six months.

The primary haul street is 90 per cent full, whereas a second haul street is 40 per cent full. Both routes are vital for connecting the Fenix South mine pit to the leach pad.

At the adsorption, desorption and restoration plant, work has progressed on the adsorption areas, reagent handling and storage amenities, whereas the method plant’s structural meeting is sort of full.

Cladding is 90 per cent completed and the primary of three electrical swap rooms is in transit from the nation’s capital, Santiago.

Additionally, Rio2 has almost completed grade control drilling aimed on the first three years of mine manufacturing. An up to date mineral useful resource estimate is anticipated by September 2025, which can help the company refine its mine planning.

Key upcoming milestones embody kicking off ore stacking, finalising the pregnant leach answer pond and finishing {the electrical} swap rooms this month.

The pond is a key part of Rio2’s heap leaching operation and can accumulate answer enriched with dissolved metals after it percolates by the crushed ore on a leach pad.

Other key milestones will embody commissioning the ADR plant in November and finishing a mine enlargement examine by the top of the yr.

The Fenix Gold Project hosts a non-JORC measured and indicated useful resource of 4.8 million ounces of gold. The project is designed as a run-of-mine heap leach operation, which minimises its environmental influence by eliminating crushing or tailings amenities.

The project has an estimated US$235 million in initial and sustaining capital and can make use of 1200 people during construction and 800 during its 17-year operational section, which can considerably benefit the Atacama area.

With construction on finances, a sturdy useful resource base and Wheaton’s robust financial backing, Rio2 is poised to ship a trendy, sustainable gold mine.

The Fenix Gold Project is set to grow to be a cornerstone of financial growth in Chile, with first gold in January marking a transformative milestone for the company and the area.

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