Chile

Chile’s importance is not so much that it is the world’s fourteenth largest producer, at 40 tonnes (1.3 million oz) in 2001 (according to GFMS), but that it paved the way in the late 1970s with favorable mining laws that first attracted North American gold mining companies into Latin America.

The result was the discovery and successful development of epithermal gold deposits high in the Andes that lifted Chile’s production from a mere three tonnes (0.1 million oz) to 56 tonnes (1.8 million oz) in fifteen years. The experience got Canadian and US companies accustomed to working in Latin America, encouraged other countries in this region to adjust their mining laws, and ultimately led to the natural step of migrating just over the frontier in the Andes mountains into Argentina, which is emerging as a significant producer.

The El Indio mine run by Barrick Gold, opened in 1980, showed the way ahead. It had astonishing initial gold grades of 358g/t (11.5 million oz) that yielded up to 12 tonnes (0.39 million oz). In 2001 the mine produced around 2 tonnes (0.1 million oz) and is scheduled to close during 2002. Barrick’s nearby Tambo mine was closed because of the poor gold price in mid-2000, while the proposed Pascua-Lama due in 2003 is on hold.

La Coipa mine, on the fringe of the high Atacama desert at 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) was opened in 1989 by Placer Dome and TVX Gold, and is still operational, although output is under five tonnes (0.16 million oz) annually.

There were a number of closures and suspensions in 2000, including the Andacollo, Fachinal, and Refugio mines. Meridian Gold however, opened El Peñon late in 1999, and produced close to 10 tonnes (0.32 million oz) in 2001.

Chile’s output is boosted with by-product gold from a variety of copper projects including Escondida, which alone contributes around 3 to 4 tonnes (0.1 million oz) annually.