Vancouver mining giants join to form $3.5 billion project in Chile

Goldcorp and Teck Resources have joined forces to combine two mining projects the Vancouver-based companies are working on in Chile.

The two mines are 40 kilometres apart and the joint venture dubbed “Project Corridor” is meant to reduce costs and the environmental footprint by sharing several ports and facilities.

“Through Project Corridor, we will work to establish meaningful relationships with the community, Indigenous Peoples and other stakeholders that will help guide the project’s development and create greater value for all parties,” said President and CEO of Teck Don Lindsay in a statement.

Despite having longer term cost-saving benefits, the initial investment into the project will be $3.5 billion to bring Project Corridor into production. However, Goldcorp’s El Morro project and Teck’s Relincho project cost $3.9 billion and $4.5 billion each, respectively.

The companies claim they will generate 4,000 jobs in the construction phase of the project and another 1,400 during operation.

Project Corridor is estimated to contain a total of 16.6 billion pounds of copper, 8.9 million ounces of gold, and 464 million pounds of molybdenum and will last 32 years.