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Spain
Riotinto Mine

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 Location:
62 km NW from Sevilla, Spain

  Address:
La Dehesa s/n
Minas de Riotinto
Spain
21660
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Flotation
Mine Life12 years (as of Jan 1, 2021)
The Expansion Project was completed in January 2020 and the new processing plant was fully commissioned to operate at the increased annualised rate of 15Mtpa.
On January 6, 2022, Atalaya Mining Plc approved the construction of the first phase of an industrial-scale plant ("Phase I") that utilises the E-LIX System ("E-LIX"), which will produce high value copper and zinc metals from the complex sulphide concentrates sourced from Proyecto Riotinto.
Phase I plant capacity has been designed to produce between 3,000 to 10,000 tonnes of copper or zinc metal per year depending on the ratio of copper to zinc in the concentrate feed.
Atalaya will start the construction of the plant in the coming weeks and it is expected that the plant will be operational in 2022, including commissioning.
Latest NewsAtalaya Mining PLC Announces Audited Full Year Results 2021     March 24, 2022


Owners

Source: p. 11, 54
CompanyInterestOwnership
Atalaya Mining Plc. 100 % Indirect
Atalaya Riotionto Minera, S.L.U. (operator) 100 % Direct
Atalaya owns 100% of the Proyecto Riotinto copper mine in Huelva.

Deposit Type

  • VMS


Summary:

Riotinto is a typical Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposit, which are formed in extensional tectonic settings of oceanic seafloor, including spreading ridges subductions zones and arc environments.

According to genetic, rock association and geodynamic setting, the Riotinto volcanic-hosted pyritechalcopyrite mineralization is classified as felsic siliciclastic of Kuroko type. It occurred as lenses of polymetallic massive sulfide that took place at the sea floor in a submarine volcanic environment during the earlier Carboniferous, some 350 million years.

As with most significant VMS mining districts, the IPB is defined by deposit clusters formed within ocean rifts with volcanic centers. The clustering is attributed to a common heat source that caused large-scale sub-seafloor fluid convection systems.

As with most VMS deposits, Riotinto has two morphological and genetic components:
• A mound-shaped to tabular strata bound body composed mainly of massive sulfides.
• An underlying zone with development of a stockwork system of irregular veins filled by quartz and disseminated sulfides that represent the pipes of the volcanic feeders.

Furthermore, Riotinto as well as other VMS deposits, is characterized by extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration as a result of subvolcanic intrusions and fluid convection systems, which define zones of discordant alteration in the immediate footwall and hanging wall of the deposit.

Mineralization is typical of the VMS deposits and occurs as stockwork and massive sulfides. Beside these, oxidation weathering of the primary mineralization has developed gossans and enrichment zones in places.

The stockworks occur as irregular veins, fractures and fissures filled with quartz and sulfides. Two main types of stockworks are identified: 1) pyritic (20% S content) and 2) cupriferous (2% Cu content). The veins become thicker towards the surface. Close to the massive sulfides, most stockworks are made up of veins with lesser amounts of strongly replaced volcanic rocks.

In the Riotinto district mineralization, hydrothermal alteration and secondary replacement (i.e., silicification, chloritization, sericitization and sulfidization) often occur associated to some stockwork zones, and along thin fractures and veins. The alteration zone is characterized by an inner core of chlorite alteration surrounded by an envelope of sericitic alteration, silicification, and pyrite and carbonate alteration. The copper-rich mineralization is most closely associated with the chlorite altered zone.

The massive sulfide consists of lenses of pyrite plus chalcopyrite emplaced on the marine basins surface as a result of black smoker flows. They occur overlaying the felsic volcanic and the stockworks. The primary sulfide mineralization consists mostly of pyrite, with minor chalcopyrite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite and sulfosalts of Sb and As. Chalcopyrite is the predominant copper mineral and mostly occurs within small fractures in the pyrite, on a lesser extent it occurs in isolation.

The massive sulfide deposits are located as dismembered lenses along the axis and the flanks of the anticline close to the Northern and Southern Faults. The principal deposits are San Dionisio-Atalaya, Filón Sur, Filón Norte (Cerro Colorado, Dehesa, Lago and Salomon).

Nowadays, massive sulfides remain only at San Dionisio-Atalaya. At Filon Sur and Filon Norte, all the massive sulfides were mined. In the core ofthe anticline at Cerro Colorado-Salomon open pit, it is believed that the deposits originally formed an almost continuous lens of massive sulfides of about 5 km long, 750m wide and 40m thick, containing more than 500 million tonnes of sulfide mineralization.

Well-developed stockwork mineralization occurs in the volcanic rocks that underlay parts of the massive sulfide ore at all the zones from Filon Norte. Beside the stockwork and the sulfides, secondary mineralization occurs in places. An important volume of sulfides in Cerro Colorado and minor amounts in Corta Atalaya have developed extensive gossans, which were exploited for gold and silver. Gossan and the zone of supergene enrichment are characterized by the occurrence of secondary minerals goethite-limonite and chalcocite-covellite respectively.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Mining has been conducted in the Riotinto area episodically since Roman times, and possibly earlier. The Riotinto Company (a British firm) gained mineral rights and surface ownership in 1874 and operated Riotinto Minera until it began divesting its interests in 1954. Operations in the Cerro Colorado open pit, which is the foundation of the Riotinto Project, began in 1968. The Riotinto mine properties were under the ownership of a local cooperative by the end of the 1990s. Mining activities ended at Cerro Colorado and other smaller operations in 2001 due to deteriorating economic conditions. Mining operations at the Riotinto Project site restarted in June 2015. The Cerro Colorado pit is completely open and in good condition.

Continued exploitation of the Cerro Colorado deposit uses conventional, open pit mining methods. Mining benches are on 10-m vertical intervals. Contractors’ small- to medium-scale mining equipment is used to execute the development plan, including: rock drills capable of drilling 102- to 127-mm-diameter blastholes, hydraulic excavators with bucket capacities of 6 to 14 m3 , off-highway trucks with 55- to 91-t payload capacities, and suitably sized support equipment.

Atalaya Mining is presently using mining contractors for all excavation work, including drilling and blasting, through the joint venture UTE Riotinto. This joint venture includes the companies S&L, which handles earth moving, and Insersa, which is responsible for drilling and blasting. Both companies are significant and well-financed contractors in Spain with extensive metal mining experience. Atalaya Mining is responsible for all grade control and mine planning.


Crushing and Grinding
Flow Sheet: Source
Crusher / Mill TypeModelSizePowerQuantity
Gyratory crusher 60" x 89" 460 kW 1
Jaw crusher 250 kW 1
Cone crusher 325 kW 3
Cone crusher 370 kW 2
SAG mill 23 MW 1
Ball mill 24' x 24' 7600 kW 1
Ball mill 20' x 30' 7600 kW 1
Ball mill 14' x 20' 1840 kW 1
Ball mill 15.5' x 21' 2473 kW 2

Summary:

The Riotinto concentrator processes copper sulfide ore using conventional froth flotation to produce copper concentrates. The plant employs a combination of existing equipment associated with the historical operations as well as expanded and upgraded facilities.

The expansion includes the addition of a 15 Mtpa capacity SAG mill ahead of the existing ball milling circuits and decommissioning of the existing fine ore stockpile and reclaim systems. All the crushed material from both crushing circuits is combined and reports to a new crushed ore stockpile and reclaim system that feeds the new SAG mill. The SAG mill discharge is fed to a new primary cyclone cluster, with the cyclone overflow reporting directly to the existing flotation conditioning tank. The cyclone underflow reports to the existing primary mill.

The aim of the 15 Mtpa expansion is to utilize only primary crushing with a SAG mill and eliminate the high operating cost of the existing secondary and tertiary crushing circuit.

Summary:
1. Installing a SAG mill with a pebble crushing circuit, that is capable of grinding 15 Mtpa of coarsely crushed product to the extent where a proportion of the ground product is sufficiently fine to report directly to flotation (cyclone overflow), and the coarser component (cyclone underflow) is suitable to feed the existing milling circuit.

2. The installation of the SAG mill effectively re-distributes the power balance away from high cost secondary and tertiary crushing, yet retains the ability to achieve comparable grind product specification with sufficient ball milling capacity.

3. Fully re-utilizing the existing crushing circuit on ROM ore (60” x 89”, 460kW gyratory crusher and 325kW Cone crushers), so that a parallel 5 Mtpa crushing line with a single 250 kW jaw crusher is sufficient to increase overall crushing capacity from 9.5 Mtpa to 15 Mtpa. Compared to the 9.5 Mtpa scenario, the crushed product is coarser, but suitable for SAG milling.


Processing

  • Flotation

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The Riotinto concentrator processes copper sulfide ore using conventional froth flotation to produce copper concentrates. The plant employs a combination of existing equipment associated with the historical operations as well as expanded and upgraded facilities.

The basic engineering design to increase the plant throughput rate from 5 Mtpa (Phase 1) to 9.5 Mtpa (Phase 2) began in March 2015. Commissioning and ramp-up of the Phase 2 plant commenced in March 2016.

The 15 Mtpa expansion of Proyecto Riotinto, which was first announced in December 2017, reached full mechanical completion on schedule and on budget in August 2019. Following completion, the processing plant was fully commissioned and began successfully operating at an increased annualised rate of 15Mtpa in January 2020. The project was designed to upgrade processing facilities with the ultimate goal of increasing copper production to approximately 50,000 – 55,000 tonnes per year.

The 15 Mtpa ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter202120202019201820172016
Copper Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required88.385.583.3
Copper Head Grade, %  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required0.490.50.49
Copper Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required23.322.421.6
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Production:

CommodityProductUnits202120202019201820172016
Copper Metal in concentrate t  ......  Subscription required ^  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required42,11437,16426,179
Copper Payable metal t  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required40,30635,50425,353
Copper Concentrate kt  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required181166122
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics202120202019201820172016
Ore tonnes mined  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required10,366,903 t10.8 Mt9.3 Mt7.7 Mt
Waste  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required17.9 Mt17.7 Mt
Tonnes milled  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required10,453,116 t9.8 Mt8.8 Mt6.5 Mt
Annual milling capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required15 Mt9.5 Mt9.5 Mt9.5 Mt
Annual production capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at December 31, 2020:
The contained Proven plus Probable mineral reserves above 0.16% Cu cut-off from the 31 December 2020 topography for Cerro Colorado open pit are summarised in table below.

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven 138,929 kt Copper 0.377 %
Probable 46,791 kt Copper 0.382 %
Proven & Probable 185,720 kt Copper 0.378 % 702,022 kt

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits202120202019201820172016
Cash costs Copper USD  ......  Subscription required ^†  ......  Subscription required†  ......  Subscription required† 1.94 / lb† 1.91 / lb† 1.95 / lb†
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Copper USD  ......  Subscription required ^†  ......  Subscription required†  ......  Subscription required† 2.26 / lb† 2.3 / lb†
^ Guidance / Forecast.
† Net of By-Product.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Financials:

Units20202019201820172016
Sustaining costs M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required8   7.4  
Revenue M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required189.5   160.5   98.8  
Operating Income M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required40   24.7  
Gross profit M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required47.3   29.2  
Pre-tax Income M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required41.5   21.9  
After-tax Income M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required34.4   18.2  
EBITDA M EUR  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required53.5   41.3   15.4  
Operating Cash Flow M EUR  ......  Subscription required55.3   30.5  
Subscription required - Subscription is required


Heavy Mobile Equipment:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantityStatusLeased or
Contractor
Ref. Date
Backhoe ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Backhoe ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Compactor ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Dozer ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Dozer ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Drill ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Mar 3, 2020
Drill ....................... Subscription required 127 mm ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Drill ....................... Subscription required 127 mm ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Mar 3, 2020
Excavator ....................... Subscription required 14 cu. m ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Excavator ....................... Subscription required 6 cu. m ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Excavator ....................... Subscription required 7.5 cu. m ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Grader ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Truck (dump) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Truck (dump) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Truck (dump) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 91 t ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 55 t ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
Truck (water) 90 t ....................... Subscription required Existing Leased Dec 31, 2017
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Proposed Leased Dec 31, 2017
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2020
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2019
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2018

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Quarterly Report 2018
Technical Report 2018
Annual Report 2017
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Atalaya Mining PLC Announces Audited Full Year Results 2021 March 24, 2022
Atalaya to Start Construction of an E-LIX Plant January 6, 2022
CORRECTION - Atalaya Mining Announces Update on Cerro Colorado Reserves June 24, 2021
Atalaya Mining PLC Announces Update on Proyecto Riotinto East & Masa Valverde May 25, 2021
Atalaya Mining PLC Announces Junta de Andalucía Validates Mining Permits June 1, 2020
Atalaya Mining PLC Announces Operations Recommence at Proyecto Riotinto April 6, 2020
Atalaya Mining PLC Announces Company Update - COVID 19 Developments March 30, 2020
Atalaya Mining PLC Announces Full Mechanical Completion of 15Mtpa Expansion August 19, 2019

Aerial view:

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