Amerigo Resources is a Canadian company that specializes in the production of copper through the processing of tailings from the El Teniente mine in Chile.
Aurora, could you tell us a bit about your background, and how does it feel to be a woman in the mining industry?
Well, it is interesting because I have never perceived mining as being necessarily male dominated. In my 35-year career, I never viewed being a woman as an issue. I have always believed in doing your best work, finding an industry that is interesting, and joining a company that provides challenges. There was never a backstory of women versus men or an industry with more or fewer opportunities for women.
My story is simple: I was born in Mexico City and worked in various industries before moving to Canada. For example, I worked for a British firm building sewage treatment plants. When I moved to Canada almost 30 years ago, I worked in technology. Then, I joined Amerigo as a part-time CFO when the company had just bought the operation in Chile, Minera Valle Central. My background is in finance, and as time passed, my part-time role became full-time. I became more interested in other business areas, especially as Amerigo grew its operation in Chile. We aimed to double production, which we achieved through a major expansion, financing, and obtaining necessary permits. This natural evolution within the company led to my promotion to CEO four years ago.
Has the company been processing copper tailings since the very beginning?
Yes, this company was founded in Chile in 1992 with the objective of processing tailings from the world's largest underground copper mine, El Teniente, owned by Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer. Codelco is a significant contributor to the copper industry, and El Teniente is their most important mine. We have been processing their tailings for 32 years.
Is there anyone else doing something similar to Amerigo?
There is no other company producing all of their copper exclusively from copper tailings at our scale. Some operations handle zinc or gold tailings, but not copper. We are confident in saying we are the only company globally processing copper tailings at this level.
Why do you think that is? Surely, if it makes business sense, more would be doing it…
Tailings are the waste material from the mining process, often seen as an environmental responsibility rather than an opportunity. Companies manage their tailings responsibly, but traditionally, tailings are considered waste after the economically viable metals are extracted. However, we have seen an opportunity in processing these tailings, a contrarian approach that has proven valuable. Miners may eventually see economic value in their tailings, but it has not been a priority due to the low-grade nature of tailings compared to new, higher-grade materials.
In addition to the economic incentive, there is a global need for more copper due to the green transition. Do you think that will make more players enter the space of recovering copper from tailings?
We are entering an era where the incentive to seek copper from non-traditional sources is growing. Companies are exploring proprietary leaching technologies and recovering copper from overburden and tailings. Miners are beginning to see the potential in additional copper sources beyond traditional methods, incorporating these into their production plans.
Do you intend to expand and replicate your current model in other locations?
We would like to expand, but several conditions must be met. One key factor is the long-term nature of our agreement with El Teniente. Any copper operation involves a multi-million dollar investment, and recovering that investment from low-grade material requires significant volume and a long-term timeframe. Our long-term relationship with El Teniente has made our project successful. Similar projects must consider long-term recovery processes as part of an overall long-term mining plan.
Is there a growing pressure on miners to adopt technologies such as yours to move towards a circular economy?
Yes, the trend is there. It goes beyond that, though. We need to educate better and convey the criticality of our products to the rest of the world. For many, mining represents a dirty industry, one that destroys the environment. This perception is partly due to miners not effectively communicating the importance we give to environmental care and stewardship. Getting a permit for a mine, both environmentally and socially, is increasingly difficult. We need to show communities and the public that we produce critical materials for electrification and decarbonization responsibly, ensuring our environmental footprint is minimal.
Incorporating proven methods and showing our commitment to environmental care can create a more efficient and accepted process. We are approaching a point where private enterprises, society, governments, and NGOs must collaborate better to move forward responsibly. The new mining projects, especially in Chile, involve extensive care and permitting, which is essential but time-consuming. If we can streamline this process, everyone will benefit. Completing the mining cycle by recovering additional material from tailings would close the loop fantastically for many operations.
We were told that the old notion that the health of the economy is closely related to copper prices is becoming obsolete because there is a separate demand for copper coming from the green transition. Do you see this trend?
Yes. Previously, ‘Dr. Copper’ indicated a tight correlation between macroeconomic performance and copper demand. A strong manufacturing cycle meant high copper demand. However, this relationship decoupled starting around two years ago. Despite low macroeconomic activity globally in 2023, copper prices remained stable, which would not have happened 10 years ago. The green demand for copper is building up, especially in regions that had stopped being copper-intensive, like Western Europe, the US, and Canada.
Additionally, China, once the primary driver of copper demand, now has an extra layer of demand due to green projects. Even with issues like the Chinese housing sector, copper demand continued to grow. India is also emerging as a significant player, similar to China in 2003. This increasing demand coincides with stressed copper supply due to underinvestment in new projects over the past 20 years. Thus, we anticipate copper prices will remain high and likely increase further.
What are the next steps and strategic priorities for Amerigo Resources?
Amerigo is unique not only for producing copper exclusively from tailings but also for achieving many environmental goals that other companies aim for in the next 20 years. Our environmental footprint is very low; 95% of our energy is renewable, and since 2021, we've used 100% renewable power at our MVC plant.
We also recycle 74% of our water and have invested significantly in water reuse, minimizing the depletion of new sources. Our greenhouse gas emissions are minimal, with an intensity of 0.25% relative to the metal we produce.
Our focus is to show that sustainable, long-term projects like ours can be implemented in other organizations. It is not incidental but can be continued over time and make economic sense when done responsibly. While it is not feasible to invest billions in tailings reprocessing plants without the right conditions, the value in tailings is undeniable. Miners will increasingly see this opportunity and will be incentivized to extract incremental copper production responsibly. This approach presents a significant opportunity for the industry.
