Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




TRADE WARS
Chile boosts outlook for gold, copper
by Staff Writers
Santiago, Chile (UPI) Oct 25, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Chilean outlook for gold and copper production, described as strategic to national interest, has improved with forecasts of greater exploration and refining activities in 2012.

The Latin American country had its state copper producer's ratings upped amid assessments of a continuing lead in copper production and its positive effect on the economy.

Canadian Casablanca Mining, in a news release, outlined plans by its wholly owned Chilean subsidiary, Santa Teresa Minerals, S.A., to finish preparations for exploitation of its Casuto gold property in IV Region Coquimbo, Choapa province, about 120 miles northwest of Santiago.

The Casuto project includes 22 contiguous exploration concessions more than 6,200 hectares. The deposit is thought to extend through the valley and into Chigualoco Bay for about 8 miles.

Abundant historic pits, shafts and underground workings are evidence of the historical exploitation, the company said.

The Casuto-Chigualoco River basin and estuary, protected over the years from sea tides, holds gold deposits carried by the river instead of being carried out to sea. Gold in the Jurassic rocks of the area is thought to be of a high grade.

In a gold rush from 1836 to 1846, Casuto grew to about 6,000 workers in a town with more than 40 stores and trading houses. Skimpy records cite gold output during the period to have averaged 24-48 pounds a day.

The Casuto gold boom slowed due to river sedimentation and waterlogging of shafts. Current government plans call for a vigorous recovery in gold exploration and production.

U.S. Geological Survey statistics indicate Chile, fourth in the world in terms of untapped gold reserves, after Russia and ahead of the United States, is looking to boost its gold output.

In 2011, Chile mined 50 tons of gold, but its potential could be as high as 3,750 tons. That would place Chile, 17th largest gold producer, closer to the top 10 -- the government's stated target.

Fitch Ratings this month affirmed its ratings on state copper producer Corporacion Nacional del Cobre to stress the strategic importance of the metal's exports.

Codelco's net revenue in 2011 of $17.5 billion accounted for 7 percent of Chile's gross domestic production and 31 percent of general government revenues.

"Fitch views Codelco's long-life copper reserves as a strategic asset for Chile because it should allow the company to remain an important contributor to government revenues in the future," Fitch said.

"Codelco possesses immense copper deposits, accounting for 9 percent of the world's known proven and probable reserves," the rating agency said.

Fitch says Chile's rating could be upgraded as a result of stronger economic growth prospects. Both gold and copper are rated by industry analysts as crucial to boosting Chile's economic outlook.

.


Related Links
Global Trade News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TRADE WARS
Hong Kong exports grow 15.2% in September
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 25, 2012
Hong Kong's exports grew 15.2 percent year-on-year in September, the government said Thursday, while warning of an economic outlook fraught with challenges. The value of total exports rose to HK$313.2 billion ($40.4 billion), with total exports to Asia up 20.1 percent, the Census and Statistics Department said. August saw only a marginal 0.6 percent increase in exports year-on-year. Impo ... read more


TRADE WARS
Clinton hails Haitian post-quake reconstruction

Top Italy scientists resign in protest at quake ruling

Japan's radiation monitoring unreliable: Greenpeace

Japan saves 64 Chinese seamen from burning freighter

TRADE WARS
Zynga bets on mobile and gambling games

Microsoft goes mobile with Windows 8, new tablet

Lockheed Martin Foliage-Penetrating Reconnaissance Radar Integrated with System to Detect Slow Moving Objects

Orbital Awarded Contract by USAF For EAGLE Spacecraft Platform

TRADE WARS
Suez reports operating profit fall on delay to Melbourne water plant

Genetic Patterns of Deep-Sea Coral Provide Insights into Evolution of Marine Life

EU keeps fishing subsidies, attacked by environmentalists

Sweden's only coral reef at risk of dying

TRADE WARS
New understanding of Antarctic's weight-loss

Australia's Antarctic runway melting

Arctic seafloor said littered with plastic

Leonardo DiCaprio urges Antarctic ocean sanctuary

TRADE WARS
Rice agriculture accelerates global warming

Combined pesticide exposure affects bumblebee colony success

Panels reject study on GM corn but urge wider probes

Indian farmers cotton on to sustainable farming

TRADE WARS
Hurricane Sandy kills 2 in Haiti, heads to Bahamas

Tokyo prepares for the 'Big One'

Hurricane makes direct hit on Jamaican capital

Flooding cut Nigerian oil output by around 20 percent

TRADE WARS
Mobile phone app developers take on Africa

Sudan accuses Israel of air raid, threatens action

Morocco trial of 23 Sahrawis postponed indefinitely

Tuareg killed by uniformed men in central Mali: reports

TRADE WARS
Grandmas made humans live longer

How fear skews our spatial perception

New Stanford analysis provides fuller picture of human expansion from Africa

New images could crack ancient writings




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement