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ReGIonAL RoUnDUP

FQM extends with Latin available to the company, and consistent Aguia scopes outs
with the company’s prudence regarding
Resources in Peru its debt position, the board believes that phosphate
a combination of the proceeds of the
Latin Resources Ltd and JV partner placing, operational cash flow and exist- Scoping study results from Aguia Re-
Antares Peru SAC – a wholly-owned ing debt facilities will allow the company sources Ltd’s Tres Estradas in Brazil
subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals Ltd to fully fund the construction of Salares indicated Phase 1 capex of $9.72 mil-
– will start drilling the MT03 Pachaman- Norte,” Gold Fields said in a statement. lion would be needed for a 300,000 tpa
ca copper project in Peru once drilling The company, which operates produc- phosphate project lasting 18 years.
permits have been approved. ing gold mines in South Africa, Ghana, Payback on the initial start-up capital
Drill hole targets have been confirmed Australia and Peru, said headline earn- was estimated to take three years for the
and a 4,000m programme planned by ings per share (HEPS) rose to 20c for the Phase 1 saprolite project based on a re-
Antares at Pachamanca, where Latin full year ending December 31, from 7c in source of 5.1mt @ 8.79% phosphate.
will be free-carried through to a mining the year prior and in line with the com- A direct application natural fertiliser
decision by Anatres, which has the right pany’s guidance. (DANF) from the high-grade oxidised
to earn 51% of the project by completing HEPS is the main profit measure used ore would be produced and marketed to
the 4,000m drilling programme within six in South Africa that strips out certain local buyers.
months of Latin receiving permitting. one-off items. Aguia managing director Dr Fernando
After it was announced that Antares “Gold Fields had a strong finish to Tallarico said the project was receiving
would extend acquisition terms for Pa- 2019, reporting higher production and great interest from potential domestic
chamanca, Latin received noticed from lower costs for the last quarter of the and international financiers.
the Government that official drill permit- year,” Gold Fields chief executive Nick “They are attracted to our phased ap-
ting by Antares could start. Holland (pictured) said in a statement. proach to developing Tres Estradas, its
The company reported 590,000oz of potential scale, its status as the only
Orocobre to take attributable gold production for the final local phosphate mining operation in
southern Brazil and its environmentally
Advantage quarter of the year from 523,000oz a credentials. These discussions are ad-
year earlier. Attributable equivalent gold
production for the miner for 2020 is ex- vancing most favourably,” Tallarico said.
Orocobre Ltd has entered into a defini- The scoping study indicated that no
tive agreement to acquire the outstand- pected to be between 2.275 moz and tailings disposal or use of water resourc-
ing shares of Advantage Lithium Corp. 2.315 moz, it said. es in the processing at Tres Estradas
Taking control of Advantage means Gold Fields declared a final dividend would be required.
Orocobre will have full exposure to 6.3mt of R1/share, giving a gross dividend of The company is targeting production
of LCE at Cauchari, Argentina, devel- 160c/share. in the first half of 2022.
oped under JV between the two parties. R e u t e r s
Cauchari will be considered within the
future plans of the Olaroz lithium facil-
ity, with the integration of both deposits
enhancing Orocobre’s position as a low-
cost producer of lithium chemicals in the
region.
Salares Norte to start

in 2023

Gold Fields Ltd reported a jump in
2019 profits as the gold miner benefited
from increased production and a higher
gold price.
Gold Fields also said it intended to
place new shares to raise about $US269
million to help fund its new Salares Norte
mining project.
The share placing, which is around
5% of the company’s existing issued or-
dinary shares, will be done through an
accelerated bookbuild.
Salares Norte is expected to have a
life of around 11 years and an average
annual production of 450,000oz gold
over the first seven years.
The Chilean gold-silver project is ex-
pected to begin producing in the first
quarter of 2023.
“Following a review of the alternatives

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