Salares Norte: the cost of high-altitude ramp-ups

Salares Norte is a 100%-owned Gold Fields gold-silver project sitting between 3,900m and 4,700m above sea level in Chile's Atacama region. Its high-sulphidation epithermal system was pitched as a portfolio-changer for Gold Fields. Getting there has been harder than that pitch suggested.

Trade press coverage through 2025, including Miningmx, has focused on the operational challenge of ramping up through successive Atacama winters, with the project working to protect throughput as low temperatures interfere with process water and reagent handling.

For investors, Salares Norte is a reminder that high-grade ounces at high altitude come with a physical delivery risk that spreadsheets consistently underweight. When ramp-up slips, the discount rate applied to the whole company widens, not just the discount on the project.