A flotation plant concentrates the ore extracted from the underground mine with a capacity of 20,000 tons per month. The plant facilities include unitary operations of crushing, grinding, gravity concentration, flotation concentration, thickening and filtering of concentrate, and thickening and filtering of tailings. The purpose of each of these operations is the recovery of gold and copper via concentration by flotation, and the recovery of coarse gold by means of gravity concentration. Meanwhile, flotation tailings are filtered and transported to a dry tailings deposit, where they are arranged in layers and compacted to 95%.

Type of product

Gold and copper concentrates produced by flotation is exported via traders.

The gravity ore concentrate is for export markets and taken directly to refineries without intermediaries.

Sustainability

Filtered tailings: tailings produced by flotation are press-filtered with the purpose of reducing its humidity to 15%, then loaded in trucks, transported to the tailings deposit, organized in layers and compacted, to increase its mechanical stability. The deposit for filtered tailings is built in ascending layers forming 15 meter terraces. The location of the tailings deposit – in a compacted filtered tailings deposit – eliminates dangers associated to the operations of a pulp tailings dam, significantly reducing visual impact, being safer for neighboring communities and friendly to the environment.

Water reuse: filtering the tailings makes it possible to recover 85% of water used in the
process, with a consequent reduced consumption of only 0.2 m3 of water per ton of mineral processed.

100% electrical energy from non-conventional sources.

Location

Tambo de Oro mine site is located on the road to Combarbalá, Route D605, km 30, Punitaqui, Ovalle, Coquimbo