Rio2 said delays to a blasting permit, new sequencing at Fenix South, and truck availability challenges shaped its Q1 2026 operations.
Blasting permit delay – the blasting permit was expected to be issued by mid-November 2025 and was received in late-December 2025, effectively setting the mine plan for 2026 back by 6 weeks.. Opening up Fenix South – initial mining at the peak of Fenix South required careful sequencing between drilling, blasting and mining activities in a constrained area.. Operating space has now been created, which is expected to support more efficient mining going forward.. Fenix
South is a newer area within the Fenix Gold mine plan which began contributing ore to the leach pad during Q1, 2026.. Operator availability – A tight labor market in Chile with high metal prices and increased mining activity, created challenges for our contractor STRACON in retaining personnel, particularly truck drivers willing to work at a high altitude mine such as Fenix Gold.. STRACON And Rio2 have been actively addressing the turnover and absenteeism that
impacted trucking during Q1.. By the end of March, the operator and truck availability were improving, and it is expected that these issues will be satisfactorily resolved in Q2 2026.. Truck fleet transition – the initial mine truck fleet consisted of rented 35-tonne capacity trucks from local providers, originally mobilized during construction of the plant and pad facilities and not optimized for steady-state mine operations.. These trucks are being phased out and replaced by a
new fleet of 42-tonne capacity trucks that have been purchased by STRACON specifically for mine operations.. This fleet of new trucks will start arriving in May 2026 and will be maintained on site by STRACON’s maintenance team.
Rio2 Q1 2026, Fenix South, blasting permit, truck availability, STRACON, Fenix Gold mine plan