Rio Blanco
From IntFX
Rio Blanco
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[edit] Brief overview
The Rio Blanco site is located 58 kilometers (36 miles) northwest of Rifle, Colorado. The Rio Blanco tests were conducted under the Plowshare Program, which was a series of nuclear and conventional tests conducted by Atomic Energy Commission to explore peacetime uses of nuclear explosives. The Rio Blanco tests were designed to increase natural gas production from low-permeability sandstone. The Project Rio Blanco test, which was located approximately 36 miles northwest of Rifle, consisted of the nearly simultaneous detonation of three 33-kiloton devices in a 2,130 meter (7,000 feet) well in May 1973. The Rio Blanco test was the third gas production stimulation experiment in the Plowshare Program. Contamination was present as a result of the activities conducted on the sites in conjunction with the gas stimulation testing and gas flaring operations.
At the Rio Blanco site, contamination consisted of radioactive contamination of the deep bedrock around the shot cavities; contamination of a deep zone in FCG Well No. 1, in which contaminated water from the production testing and decontamination operations was injected; possible surface contamination from the gas flaring activities; and near-surface hazardous waste contamination from the closed mud pits. Ground water is the most likely transport medium for the deep contamination. The cleanup strategy was to characterize ground-water flow and area of contamination, assess risk, and model contaminant movement away from the shot cavities. The focus was on tritium, since it was the most mobile of the potential radiological contaminants.[1]
[edit] Ownership
[edit] Location
The Rio Blanco project site is located in the Huancabamba region of northwestern Peru.[2]
[edit] Deposit size
Rio Blanco is a porphyry copper deposit which is situated at the northern end of the Peruvian copper-gold belt. The deposit was discovered in 1994. Monterrico acquired an option on the property in 2001 and, after a successful drilling programme, negotiated the acquisition of 100% of the project in 2003. The deposit lies in the lower Andes (2,200-2,800 masl) close to the border with Ecuador. The site is uninhabited and there is no conflict with agriculture.
| ' | ||||||||
| Rio Blanco | Million | Cu | Mo | Rio Blanco | Million | Cu | Mo | |
| Resources (1) | tonnes | % | ppm | Reserves (2) | tonnes | % | ppm | |
| Measured | 146 | 0.73 | 235 | Proven | 133 | 0.74 | 232 | |
| Indicated | 670 | 0.56 | 234 | Probable | 365 | 0.59 | 210 | |
| Inferred | 441 | 0.52 | 216 | - | - | - | - | |
| Resource Total | 1,257 | 0.57 | 228 | Reserve Total | 498 | 0.63 | 216 | |
The resources, which are located principally at Henry's Hill, have been estimated (at a 0.4% Cu cut-off grade) at 1,257 million tonnes at 0.57% copper and 228 ppm molybdenum. This makes Rio Blanco one of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the world today. There is also potential to expand the resource further by additional drilling.[3]
- Snowden -- March 2006 (JORC compliant) @ a 0.4% Cu cutoff.
(Based on 53,000m of diamond drilling (157 drill holes) & two adits.)
- NCL Ingenieria y Construccion SA - December 2006 @ a 0.38% Cu cutoff[4]
[edit] Production start date
Early site preparation works are scheduled to start in 2008 and the target date for plant start up and commissioning is 2011, according to Monterrico. [5]
International Minerals had planned to complete permitting at the Rio Blanco project in the fourth quarter of this year with a production target of 75,000 ounces of gold equivalent in 2010. [6]
[edit] Production per annum
The mine plan focuses on treating the higher grade (supergene) ore first in order to accelerate cash flow. As a result, in the first year of operation the mine will produce about 224,000 tonnes of copper, plus about 1,800 tonnes of molybdenum. Average annual production over the first five years of operation will be about 191,000 tonnes of copper and 2,180 tonnes of molybdenum. At these rates of copper production, Rio Blanco would rank amongst the 20 largest copper mines in the world today, alongside Bingham Canyon (250kt), Los Bronces (225kt), Olympic Dam (190kt) and Ok Tedi (185kt). (Figures in brackets indicate average copper production rates for the last 3 years).[7]
[edit] Production Statistics
[edit] Operating cost per pound
Capital cost US$1.44 billion
The capital cost estimate has been prepared to an accuracy of -5%/+15%. Third party participation in the construction of the roads, power line and port facilities is being investigated in order to reduce costs. The capital costs are being refined and a breakdown will be presented when a review of the civil works and tailings costs has been completed. However, Hatch is confident that these adjustments will be within the overall accuracy level of the estimate. The operating costs and pay back period have been calculated using long-term copper price forecasts provided by Bloomsbury Minerals Economics Ltd. [9]
[edit] External Analysis
[edit] Political/social Characteristics
There is much opposition to the Rio Blanco project. For instance, the community of Yanta is suing Monterrico's Peruvian subsidiary Majaz for illegal invasion of its territority. Peru's Defensoria del Pueblo, or Ombudsman, Dra Eugenia Fernia Zegarra, has just issued an official complaint to the Minister of Energy and Mines against the national government's allowing mining activities by Majaz in the Yanta community. Among other points, she cited the failure by Majaz to obtain a two-thirds approval of the citizens of Yanta for the Rio Blanco mining project. International opposition is mobilizing, too. On April 3, some 100 protesters gathered in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, in Monterrico Metals hometown, to protest against Rio Blanco. Peruvian community leader Nicanor Alvarado Carrasco predicted major protests and social disruption if Rio Blanco is allowed to proceed. "The Peruvian High Amazon region is not suited for mining," he said. "With its fragile ecosystem of cloud forests and paramos, and its organic agriculture in the valleys, copper mining at the source of important rivers could leave disastrous, long-lasting effects. The development of the Rio Blanco project risks a severe escalation of the mining conflict." This action was organized by the Belgian environmental group CATAPA and supported by several other Belgian, Peruvian and U.S. groups. [10]
[edit] Economic Characteristics
- Full name: Republic of Peru
- Population: 27.9 million (UN, 2007)
- Capital: Lima
- Area: 1.28 million sq km (496,225 sq miles)
- Major languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
- Major religion: Christianity
- Life expectancy: 69 years (men), 74 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 nuevo sol = 100 centimos
- Main exports: Fish and fish products, copper, zinc, gold, crude petroleum and by-products, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton
- GNI per capita: US $2,610 (World Bank, 2006)
- International dialling code: +51[11]
[edit] Notes:
1.The mining method will be open pit.
2.Proximity to infrastructure
- A 175km power line will be constructed to link the Project to Peru's national grid. Proposals have been received from transmission companies to design, build and operate the line, however at present the DFS considers that the owner will construct, operate and own the line.
- The Project will also require the construction of 25km of new road and the upgrading of 176km of existing roads. These roads will connect the Project to the Pan American Highway. Government and other third party operators will be approached to participate in road construction.[12]
