Halo Minerals Secures Mining Permit for Chilean Copper Tailings Project

Historic mine tailings along Chañaral beach in northern Chile could become a source of recoverable copper under Halo Minerals’ Playa Verde project. The company is developing plans to dredge the material, process it at a metallurgical plant and recover copper cathodes and concentrates before returning the treated and conditioned material to the beach. The project combines metal recovery with the management of mining residues left by past operations.

Halo Minerals announced that on October 23, 2026, its wholly owned subsidiary, Minera Playa Verde SpA, has received a mining permit under Article 17 No. 1 of the Chilean Mining Code. Issued through Exempt Resolution No. 473 by the Provincial Presidential Delegation of Chañaral, the authorisation covers mining works associated with dredging mineral-bearing material, including areas within the beach’s urban zone.

The approval follows several earlier regulatory steps. According to the resolution, the Regional Ministerial Secretariat for Housing and Urban Development of Atacama raised no objection to the permit. The project also has a favourable environmental assessment, following a decision by Chile’s Committee of Ministers on October 15, 2025. While these decisions advance the project’s regulatory progress, they do not mean all approvals needed for development are in place.

From a resource recovery perspective, reprocessing historic tailings may provide an additional source of copper alongside production from newly mined ore. It can also recover value from material that has already been extracted but was not fully processed or utilised in the past. The commercial case will depend on factors such as the tailings’ composition, processing efficiency, operating costs and the requirements for handling and returning treated material. Halo has not disclosed production estimates or project economics in this permit announcement.

According to the company, an application for a mining easement has already been submitted and is expected to be approved in the coming weeks. Halo is also progressing its application for a maritime concession. The latest permit does not replace other authorisations that may be required from Chilean authorities, and the company must complete the remaining work before reaching a final investment decision (FID).

Source：Halo Minerals

SUNSHINE Spotlight：Playa Verde highlights the potential to recover valuable metals from legacy mining waste while addressing material that has accumulated in a coastal environment. If developed as planned, the project could bring historic tailings back into the copper supply chain rather than treating them solely as waste.