Under the agreement, the Canadian company will have to invest $10 million in exploration over a period of eight years. Disbursements will be organized as follows: $ 500,000 in the first and second year; $1 million in the third and fourth year; and $2 million in the sixth, seventh, and eighth years. “The amounts can be spent sooner than required,” the statement said.

Last year, Barrick submitted the “NI 43-101 compliant prefeasibility study that describes a potentially profitable operation with mineral resources of not less than 2 million ounces of gold equivalent.”

El Quevar is a silver project that started in 2004 and is located 90 kilometers from the town of San Antonio de los Cobres, in the Puna de Salta. The total project area reaches almost 70,000 hectares (14 hectares for exploitation and 6 for exploration) and it is located more than 5,000 meters above sea level.