The company will focus on the Wedge, Fork, and Russet South satellite deposits with the object of converting and growing mineral resources used in the recently released preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
Vale said the Sul Superior dam, located just 1.5 km from the mine, remains intact and that it continues to be monitored 24/7 via radar, drones and a robotic station capable of detecting the slightest movements.
Investors worry a referendum on mining in Imbabura, the province in which its flagship Cascabel copper-gold project is located, could jeopardize the mine's future.
Vale said risk of a new dam break as a consequence of an unstable embankment at Gongo Soco open pit, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, are now minimal.
President and CEO Mark Bristow said the company expected to complete a feasibility study for the project, which could extend the life of the mine into the 2030s.
The $285-million takeover bid, considered by some analysts and Acacia’s minority shareholders as low, would see the world's second largest gold producer buying the remaining 35% of the African miner it does not already own, at a discount.
Debt financing agreements worth $200 million could be finalized “any day” and are expected to catalyze equity financing to start the almost 30-month development of the 1.1 billion-tonne Colluli sulphate of potash project, the company said.
