Empresa Minera Ambiental BacTech, the 98%-owned Bolivian subsidiary of BacTech Environmental, has signed a ten-year contract with Corporación Minera de Bolivia (Comibol) for remediation of Telamayu tailings.
The contract calls for the environmental remediation and restoration of the Antigua tailings and an option on the Nuevo tailings situated at the Telamayu mill site.
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BacTech Environmental president and CEO Ross Orr said: "This agreement provides BacTech with a soft entry into the Bolivian market.
"The combination of low capex, multiple metals for recovery and a strong partner in Comibol, provides a great stepping stone for additional environmental reclamation projects in partnership with Comibol in the future.
"Under the terms of the agreement, the company receives 100% of the cash flow in the initial 18 months or until the project financing debt is repaid, whichever comes first."
The first phase of the agreement focuses on the completion of a technical study on the 600,000t Antigua tails.
In the second phase, a processing plant is planned to be constructed that will create concentrates of silver, tin and copper using conventional processing.
The mill site has infrastructure including power, rail, a mill housing and a local workforce.
BacTech said that the final stage will involve commercialisation of the plant which is slated for completion within the next 12 to 15 months.
The Nuevo tailings are estimated to be about four million tonnes.
BacTech proposes to conduct an evaluation and an economic study to determine the viability of the tailings.
The company uses Bacox bioleaching technology for the reclamation of tailings and mining waste materials.
