Halo Minerals (AIM:HALO) on Friday announced that its subsidiary Minera Playa Verde SpA has secured a key mining permit for the Playa Verde copper and gold tailings project in northern Chile, authorising dredging of mineral-bearing material at Chañaral beach.
The AIM-listed copper development company recovers critical minerals from legacy mining waste rather than primary hard-rock mining, and is working to advance Playa Verde, its principal asset in the Chañaral district, towards a final investment decision.
The permit, granted under Article 17 No. 1 of the Chilean Mining Code via Exempt Resolution No. 473 from the Provincial Presidential Delegation of Chañaral, covers dredging of historic tailings at the beach, including areas within the urban zone, their processing through a metallurgical plant to recover copper as cathodes and concentrates, and the return of treated material to the beach.
The Regional Ministerial Secretariat for Housing and Urban Development of Atacama confirmed it had no objection to the permit being granted.
The resolution also records the project's favourable environmental assessment under a Committee of Ministers ruling dated 15 October 2025, which modified the Atacama Environmental Assessment Commission's earlier approval.
Halo said the permit does not replace other authorisations still required from Chilean state bodies, and that it has already submitted a mining easement application, expected to clear in the coming weeks, while its maritime concession application for offshore tailings at the site continues to progress.
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"The granting of this permit represents another important milestone in the advancement of Playa Verde and continues the progress we are making across the Project's permitting and development workstreams," said chief executive Andrew Dennan.
Dennan added that the company's focus is now on completing the remaining workstreams needed to take Playa Verde to a final investment decision, which Halo has previously targeted by the end of 2026.