√Barrick Chile submitted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the Environmental Evaluation System for the "El Alto" mining prospecting project, which consists of exploration drilling in the Atacama region.
The gold industry is going through an exceptional period due to the significant increase in the price of gold at the beginning of 2025. According to industry experts, this phenomenon is due to multiple international factors, including new economic risks, inflationary pressures and an unstable political climate.
An ambitious exploration project in the mountain range
In this favorable scenario, a new megaproject is being developed in Chilean territory which, taking advantage of the appreciation of the precious metal, will carry out exploration work to "delimit the available and exploitable reserves".
The Canadian transnational mining company Barrick has presented its initiative called "Prospección Minera El Alto", an undertaking that will require an investment of $35 million dollars and contemplates two exploratory campaigns by means of 43 platforms and 62 drill holes.
The project, which has already been submitted to the Environmental Evaluation System (SEA) for review of its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), will be located in the Atacama Region, approximately 150 kilometers southeast of Vallenar, in the mountainous area near the border with Argentina and adjacent to Pascua Lama.
The prospecting will cover a total area of 212 hectares with an estimated duration of two years, projecting the creation of about 75 jobs per season.
Charlotte Peuron, a specialist and fund manager at Crédit Mutuel, explained to El Mercurio that various elements have convinced companies to "invest safely" and, consequently, to return to gold as a financial refuge, causing massive purchases by world investors in the face of the current economic and political turbulence.
"A few months ago we expressed our interest in re-evaluating alternatives for a future company investment that would generate benefits in Alto del Carmen, the Atacama region and the country. In line with this purpose, we have submitted to the authority an Environmental Impact Statement for the "El Alto" prospecting, which considers an investment of US$35 million and the generation of 75 new jobs per season, prioritizing local hiring," said Marcelo Álvarez, Executive Director of Government Relations for Barrick South America.
Italo Morales, As