Halo Minerals PLC (AIM:HALO) said it has begun filing for a maritime concession in Chile that could more than double the tailings tonnage available to its Playa Verde copper project.
The AIM-listed company is seeking rights over the shoreline and offshore area next to Playa Verde in Chañaral, in the Atacama Region, where it estimates around 100 million tonnes of copper-bearing tailings may remain within its existing mining licences.
That compares with Halo’s current 53 million tonne JORC-compliant onshore resource and 32.2 million tonnes of ore reserves at Playa Verde, which is focused on reprocessing historic mining waste rather than new hard-rock mining.
The proposed concession area extends from the low-water mark to around 1.5 kilometres offshore, covering the historic submarine tailings footprint in Chañaral Bay. If granted, it would give Halo rights to conduct marine surveys, sampling, environmental baseline work, pilot recovery trials and, subject to separate environmental approval, potentially feed offshore material into the Playa Verde processing flowsheet.
Chief executive Andrew Dennan said the application was a “natural and material extension” of the project, adding that offshore recovery could “significantly boost copper production, extend mine life, and directly address a 50-year legacy issue for the community of Chañaral”.
Halo noted the high-water line survey fieldwork was completed last week, marking the first step in the concession process. Public notice from DIRECTEMAR and SSFFAA is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2026, with environmental studies and community consultation to run alongside onshore DFS optimisation work.