Goldcorp buys back gold stream on giant Chile project

World number four gold producer Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) announced on Wednesday it’s acquiring New Gold’s (NYSE:NGD) 4% gold stream on its El Morro project in Chile for $65 million in cash.

El Morro is part of a joint venture between Goldcorp and Teck Resources. The Vancouver-based companies merged the El Morro and Relincho deposits in  2015 to create NuevaUnion in the Atacama region of Chile. Goldcorp bought New Gold’s 30% share in El Morro for $90 million cash plus the stream at the same time the merger was announced.

The partners hope to complete a pre-feasiblity study on the giant project in the second half of this year. NuevaUnion is expected to cost around $3.5 billion to bring into production. Ore would be transported from the El Morro to a mill and concentrator facility at Relincho with an initial capacity of 90kt – 110kt a day.

NuevaUnion will have a 32-year lifespan and produce an average of 190kt copper and 315koz gold a year, over the first decade. NuevaUnion is located 4,000m above sea level and the operation, like many in Chile, will rely on desalinated water.