Located in a remote area of the Atacama Desert at 4,500 m above sea level, Salares
Norte is expected to produce 580,000 eq oz of gold in 2025. (Photo: Fluor Corp.)

Salares Norte is a world-class project with one of the industry’s lower cost profiles and a payback period of less than three years at current gold prices, Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser explained. “The project’s construction is a credit to the innovation, experience, commitment, and persistence of the teams that worked on the project,” Fraser said. “To build a remote mine at 4,500 m above sea level with winter temperatures as low as -20°C and amidst a global pandemic is an incredible feat.”

Circuit A and Circuit B of the processing plant have now been commissioned and have been handed over to the operational team. Ramp up of the mine to steady state is progressing with gold equivalent production of 250,000 oz. Allin costs are expected to be $1,790/eq oz – $1,850/eq oz for 2024. Production volumes for 2025 are expected to be 580,000 oz.

The total capital cost of the project is expected to be in line with guidance of $1.18 billion – $1.20 billion, of which $395 million was spent during 2023. The project costs have increased due to the delay in the start-up as well as an increase in the number of contractors on site and higher contractor rates.

Mining continued as planned throughout the course of 2023 and Q1 2024, with a cumulative 87.2 million metric tons (mt) of waste moved by the end of December 2024 and 2.3 million mt of ore containing 520,000 eq oz gold on stockpile.

Fluor was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction management of the project. Construction and pre-commissioning activities are scheduled to be completed in April.