The rains caused water to accumulate in the historic tailings deposit of Cauquenes, so 1.6 million cubic meters of water had to be extracted.
Rains stop processing of historic Cauquenes tailings
The rains caused water to accumulate in the historic Cauquenes tailings deposit, which interrupted the processing of these tailings. Faced with this situation, Amerigo Resources implemented floating pumps to extract the accumulated water.
MVC estimates that 1.6 million cubic meters of accumulated rainwater have been extracted from Cauquenes. This extraction is expected to conclude on June 29, 2024, with processing of the historic tailings to resume the following day.
Impact on copper production
According to estimates, these rains have affected production by approximately 1.0 million pounds of copper. However, MVC’s 2024 production guidance of 62.4 million pounds of copper and 1.2 million pounds of molybdenum remains as actual production exceeded guidance before these rains occurred.
MVC and Cauquenes water extraction
Since the June 17, 2024 market update, MVC has been able to extract water from Cauquenes uninterruptedly despite heavy rainfall. This water extraction is critical to the Cauquenes tailings process, and the Amerigo Resources team expects to resume processing by the end of the quarter, according to Aurora Davidson, the company’s president and CEO.
Precipitation recorded in MVC
The total precipitation reported in Minera Valle Central (MVC) from June 13 to 23, 2024 was 267 mm. In comparison, year-round rainfall in 2022 was 287 mm and 247 mm in 2021.
