The Chilean Government has granted surface rights for the Caspiche Gold-Copper Project to Exeter Resource, a mineral exploration and development company in Canada.
Exeter already possesses a lease agreement with the government for the surface rights that correspond to its initial mineral rights in the region, and the new grant extends this area to comprise most of its additional tenements, along with all surfaces that may be needed for the development of Caspiche.
Exeter Resource president & CEO Wendell Zerb said, "This easement secures surface access and land use for potential development, construction and mining operations at Caspiche."
Following the completion of the Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) in January 2012, Exeter applied for the surface rights over state owned land, to include an area large enough to cover all the development options under consideration for a mine at Caspiche.
The latest easement provides Exeter with the right to execute work and install all of the infrastructure and surface modifications required for the potential development of a mining operation, such as roads, excavations, stockpiles, buildings, pipelines, power lines and tailings storage facilities, among others.
As a consideration for the easement rights, Exeter will make annual payments through to 2022, with an initial payment of $1.5m.
The easement does not include certain surface rights in areas owned by the indigenous community, the Comunidad Colla Rio Jorquera y sus afluentes (CCRJ).