Eldorado Gold has completed permanent energisation of the Skouries gold-copper project in northern Greece, connecting the site to the Greek national power grid after final inspection, testing and approval by the transmission authority. The grid tie-in replaces temporary power and enables commissioning of major process plant systems, underground infrastructure and dewatering equipment ahead of ramp-up. Reliable high-voltage supply is critical for Skouries’ planned large-scale concentrator and will influence mine scheduling, ventilation design and long-term operating costs.

Anglo American has started supplying desalinated water to its Los Bronces copper mine in Chile via the newly commissioned Quilapilún Station in Colina, where collection pools feed a dedicated pipeline into the operation. Chile’s Joint Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, and Mining, Daniel Mas, formally opened the valve on 28 September, signalling a shift away from direct freshwater abstraction in a highly water-stressed region. For mine planners and process engineers, the move implies tighter integration of desalinated supply into plant water balances, pumping energy demand, and long-term permitting strategies.

Above-ground risks have imposed or frozen more than $54 billion in Latin American mining since 2018, including a $31.7‑billion settlement for the 2015 Mariana tailings dam failure in Brazil and roughly $7 billion in stalled Peruvian copper projects plus $4 billion tied up in Mexico’s El Arco, San Nicolás and Cordero developments. AMI also cites Panama’s $6.8‑billion Cobre Panamá copper mine closure and over 700 days of transport-corridor blockades at Peru’s Las Bambas as emblematic of execution and social risk. Consultants report investors now heavily discount projects with uncertain permitting timelines, weak institutional legitimacy or high exposure to illegal mining.