Wind energy in Chile – Barrick Gold?s wind farm

Construction is now 60 per cent complete on the first phase of Barrick Gold’s Punta Colorada wind farm in Chile, which will begin operating in July. The first phase includes 10 wind turbines that will contribute up to 20 megawatts of energy to Chile’s national power grid — enough to power 10,000 homes.

The wind farm will eventually grow to generate enough energy for 20,000 homes when the project’s second phase is completed. Barrick Gold is investing $70 million in the project.

Each wind turbine is 120 metres tall and weighs 130 tons. Two hundred people work at the site. The wind farm is located in the Punta Colorada area of La Higuera, Coquimbo Region, about 600 kilometres north of Santiago.

In Chile, Barrick Gold operates the Zaldivar mine and has two projects in development: Cerro Casale, in the Maricunga district of Region III; and Pascua-Lama, in the Frontera district on the border of Chile and Argentina.

www.barrick.com/