Lustros Announces Acquisition of First Tailing Site
Lustros Announces Acquisition of First Tailing Site
SANTEE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LUSTROS, INC. (OTCQB: LSLD) announced today that its Chilean subsidiary, Mineraltus Pudahuel Ltd. (whose tagline is "A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste"), has reached an agreement with Sociedad Minera Pudahuel "SMP" to process 2.4 million tons of copper-rich tailings from the closed mine of La Africana, located in the Santiago Metropolitan area. The project, known in the industry as the "Congo Project," has received all necessary approvals and permits from the Chilean authorities.
The company will apply revolutionary patent-pending technology to profitably separate the copper from the tailings with the intention of manufacturing over 24 thousand tons of food-grade, penta-hydrated copper sulfate, with an estimated market value of $60 million dollars. Additionally, detailed metallurgical analyses have shown a significant presence of silver and iron, which will also be extracted further improving the economics of the project.
The Congo Project consists of 80.4 hectares of land in the Santiago Metropolitan Area that are currently affected by the tailings. Mineraltus will remove these tailings and restore the value of the property so that it can be used for real estate development projects. In return, Mineraltus will receive a track of land of 21.4 hectares adjacent to the urban development, "Lomas De Lo Aguirre," currently valued at over $10 million dollars.
Chile produces 3.5 million tons of copper per year, with 280 million tons of new tailings generated each year. There are over 800 mines with significant tailing deposits in Chile, 50% of which are abandoned. Chile recently enacted a law requiring all mines to present a closure plan that includes treatment of tailings. This law also increases the fines associated with unclosed plants substantially.
Announcing the agreement CEO Gonzalo Troncoso said, "I am pleased to announce that we have reached a final agreement with Sociedad Minera Pudahuel (SMP) to process the Congo tailings. This signature represents a pivotal moment in the development of our company. The Congo Project has received tremendous attention in the environmental and mining communities in Chile and has been championed at very high levels of government. Although this project is very important to us, it is just the first of many more to come."
About Lustros, Inc.
Lustros, Inc.'s subsidiary Bluestone SA is a Chilean corporation in the business of copper mining and the manufacturing of food grade copper sulfate. Bluestone has a majority equity position in Sulfatos Chile S.A., which owns the Anica Copper Mines as well as a copper sulfate production project and employs a highly experienced staff of mining professionals. Lustros, Inc.'s subsidiary Mineraltus SA is a Chilean corporation that extracts copper from the tailings (waste products) of expired copper mines to secure the raw materials to manufacture high quality, feed-grade copper sulfate.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations as to future events. However, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release might not occur, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.
Lustros, Inc.
Gonzalo Troncoso
CEO
(909) 801-6969
gonzalo@lustros.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America South America Chile California
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