The new company, which will keep the Equinox name, will be one of the world’s top gold producers operating entirely in the Americas.

It now has until the end of July 2021 to meet the requirements before the 2,800 tonnes of ore per day gold mine can be built.

Water scarcity was blamed for Los Bronces' production drop in 2019.

One year ago, a Brazilian dam operated by Vale gave way to a tsunami of 9.7 million cubic meters of mining sludge that buried part of a town and killed 270 people.

Licences would allow the miner to determine concentrations of lithium on the flat, estimate the size of the resource and identify necessary next steps.

Phase one was completed 15 months ahead of schedule and for $50 million less than originally expected.