| El Morro mine | |
| Subdivision Type: | Region |
| State/Province: | Atacama Region |
| Country: | Chile |
| Owner: | Newmont (50%) Teck (50%) |
| Products: | Copper Gold Molybdenum |
The El Morro mine is one of the largest gold mines in Chile and in the world.[1] The mine is located in the north of the country in the Atacama Region.[1] The mine has estimated reserves of 6.7 million oz of gold. The mine also holds reserves amounting to 449.5 million tonnes of ore grading 0.49% copper.[1]
Contractors who have worked in this mine are Hatch, AMEC, Fluor Corporation, Bechtel. Siemens was awarded to do electrical engineering. [2]
A 70% ownership stake was sold by Xstrata to Barrick Gold for $465 million USD in 2009, with the remaining 30% owned by New Gold Inc.[3]
Development of the mine was initially halted in 2012 due to a lack of consultation with the local indigenous Diaguita community, but in 2014 a Chilean appeals ruled the project could proceed.[4] This was then overturned by the Supreme Court of Chile later that year.[5] [6]
In 2015, the mine was combined with the nearby Relincho project to a single venture called NuevaUnión split 50-50 between Goldcorp and Teck.[7] Goldcorp was merged with Newmont in 2019.