Rio2 resumes gold production ramp-up at Fenix mine

The storms also forced the temporary suspension of the exploration drilling program at Fenix Gold. So far, Rio2 says it’s completed 43 holes for 14,669m of a planned 21,880m program, with plans to resume the remaining drilling in January 2027, during Chile’s summer.

The completed holes were designed to test deeper mineralisation up to 100m beneath the reserve pit and within the wider resource pit shell. To date, 60 per cent of samples taken have been assayed, with the balance expected within two months. Once all assays are received, the company plans to release the results, then drill further at depth and along the existing resource in the new year, with the findings feeding a revised geological model and an updated resource estimate, slated for Christmas next year.

The Fenix Gold operation is a 100 per cent-owned, high-altitude mine sitting 4500m above sea level in Chile’s prolific Maricunga gold belt, around 160km from Copiapó. Its low-grade oxide deposit hosts a measured and indicated resource of 389 million tonnes grading 0.38 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 4.8 million ounces.

Its production model is based on a simple run-of-mine heap-leach process, where mined ore is placed directly onto lined pads without a conventional crushing circuit. This makes continuous ore movement central to its success, highlighting the impact of storm-related mining pauses.

Rio2’s 2023 feasibility plan envisaged daily placement rising from 12,000 tonnes in year one to 20,000 tonnes at full base-case capacity, eventually delivering average recovered gold of 91,000 ounces a year over a 12-year mine life.