Halo Minerals (LSE:HALO) has commenced the formal maritime concession application process with DIRECTEMAR and the Chilean Ministry of Defence to extend its Playa Verde project into the adjacent bay area.
The company, a copper development group focused on extracting critical minerals from legacy mining waste, says historic bathymetric surveys, academic research and its own investigations indicate an approximate 100 million tonne historic, non-JORC estimate of copper-bearing tailings within its licences, potentially more than doubling the 53Mt JORC onshore resource and 32.2Mt of Ore Reserves it already owns.
Field work for the high-water line survey was completed last week, the first procedural step in the concession application.
"Recovering these offshore tailings would significantly boost copper production, extend mine life, and directly address a 50-year legacy issue for the local community of Chañaral," said Andrew Dennan, Chief Executive Officer.
If granted, the maritime concession would provide Halo with exclusive rights to conduct marine surveys, sampling and environmental baseline studies, undertake pilot-scale recovery trials and, subject to a separate environmental impact assessment, integrate offshore material into the planned Playa Verde processing flowsheet.
DIRECTEMAR and SSFFAA are expected to publish a public notice by the end of Q2 2026 while Halo progresses baseline studies and community consultation and, subject to grant, plans a phased offshore programme to upgrade the historic estimate to a JORC Exploration Target and eventual Mineral Resource.
