Development news

Licence granted for Aguablanca project

Spanish authorities have granted a mineral licence for development of the Aguablanca nickel mine owned by Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd. of Toronto. The company has awarded the engineering contract for construction to Fluor Corp.

The Aquablanca mine is scheduled to be commissioned during the second quarter of 2004, reaching an annual production rate of 18 million lb of nickel in concentrate. That amount is roughly half of the European Union’s current annual nickel mine production.

In addition to developing Aguablanca, the company is producing gold at its 100%-owned El Valle and Carls mines and completing a feasibility study at its Corcoesto gold project.