The venture last month won permission to resume operations at its Germano iron ore mine, four years after a dam burst in the city of Mariana.

Like an earlier Senate probe, the report from the Brazilian lower house suggested the indictment of various Vale executives.

The blockade hit Penasquito's third-quarter production by some 11,000 gold ounces, 1.7 million silver ounces, 13.7 million pounds of lead and 22.8 million pounds of zinc,

The Edmonton-based company is now focusing on the Atajo zone.

Codelco said that it expected work on the plant to kick off in the first quarter of 2020 and for the plant to be operational in 2022.

Operations at the site were interrupted last March after a "stress test" failed to guarantee its stability.

A piece of land that surrounds the Soledad-Dipolo open-pit gold mine has been at the centre of a decade-long legal dispute.