Pulacayo Project Feasibility Study - Apogee Silver

Pulacayo 1 000 t/d Phase I Feasibility Study - NI 43-101 Technical Report
090644-3-0000-20-IFI-100
country also contains sizeable reserves of natural gas that have not been fully developed to
date, due to export issues and limited access to required infrastructure.
Exploration in Bolivia by international companies has been minimal in recent years and
Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (San Bartolome), Pan American Silver Ltd. (San Vicente),
Glencore International plc (AR Zinc, Sinchi Wayra) and Apex Silver Mines Ltd - now Golden
Minerals Company (San Cristóbal) have been the most significant international companies
present in recent years. To a substantial degree, this reflects political instability and
threatened changes to mining taxation. Basic exploration services are available in Bolivia
and include several small diamond core drilling contractors, ALS Group, which operates a
sample preparation facility in Oruro, SGS Group that has operations in La Paz, and several
locally owned assay facilities.
The Bolivian National School of Engineering operates a technical college in Oruro
(Universidad Técnica de Oruro) that includes a mineral processing department and
laboratory facilities that provide commercial services to the mining industry. In general, an
adequate supply of junior to intermediate level geologists, metallurgists, mining engineers
and chemists is currently considered to be present in the country.
Approximately 600 people currently live in Pulacayo on a permanent basis and many are
associated with the Cooperativa Minera Pulacayo Ltda. (Pulacayo Mining Cooperative). The
village has a state-run school and medical services are provided by the state’s Caja
Nacional de Seguros (National Insurance Fund). A hospital and clinic function
independently. Numerous dwellings and mining related buildings in Pulacayo are owned by
COMIBOL some of these have been donated to the Pulacayo Mining Cooperative. Under the
Shared Risk Contract, COMIBOL makes some mining infrastructure available for use by
Apogee (Figure 5.2).
5.3.1 Utilities
The country has an abundance of hydroelectric power and transmission lines, which parallel
the road system, provide service to most major settlements. Remote villages generally have
diesel generators, which run infrequently during evening hours. Transmission lines from the
hydroelectric plants of Landara, Punutuma, and Yura that were reconditioned by a joint
venture between COMIBOL and the Valle Hermoso Electrical Company and pass within a
few km of Pulacayo.
An adequate supply of potable water for the town is supplied by pipeline from a dam and
reservoir (Yana Pollera) facility located 28 km from Pulacayo in the Cerro Cosuño.
The project area lies between two climatic zones in the Andean region: the semi-humid Puna
and the arid Puna. The wet season, when about 80% of the approximately 1.80 mm
(average) annual precipitation occurs, is between December and March. Elevated wind
velocity and solar radiation result in evapotranspiration rates of approximately 1,700 mm per
year, of which the higher rates are encountered during the dry season of April to November.
The discrepancy between magnitudes and seasonality of precipitation and evaporation result
in a short period of excess water during the wet season, and water shortages during the dry
season.
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