Dr. Professor José Frutos (Professional Geoscientist)
Co-Founder & Chairman Emeritus
-
DesignationsGeological Society of Chile (Founding Member 1986)
-
AppointmentsNational Geological Survey, Chile Country Head
-
Prior RolesContinent Head of Andes Cordillera Project, Placer Dome (Barrick Gold) Latin-America, Exploration Manager, Kinross Gold Exploration Manager, BHP Chile, Falcon Bridge, Chevron (Chile), Cominco (Teck) Chile
-
EducationM.Sc., Geology, University of Chile, PhD, Université de Paris
-
Publishings:Published the Atlas of Chile: 1,200 Mine & Mineral Deposits, Published 46 Geology Journals & Text Books, 665 Citations Globalls
-
AwardsHonorary Professor & Former Chair, Geosciences Department, University of Chile & Visiting Professor, University of Heidelberg Germany, Visiting Professor, Economic Geology, Tokohu University
-
Major DiscoveriesPersonally staked Escondida, now the largest copper mine in the world. Led discovery of Cerro Casale, the largest gold deposit on the continent (acquired by Kinross for $3.5-Billion)
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Dr. Professor Frutos discovered the largest copper mine in the world, Escondida, as well as the largest gold deposit on the continent (Barrick & Newmont-GoldCorp’s multi-billion dollar Norte Abierto asset). He served as National Director, Geological Survey of Chile.
Dr. Professor Frutos staked the Escondida claims in 1974, approximately 8 years before the famous drill campaign of 1981 led by Minera Utah de Chile and Getty Mining Chile, which carried out an exploration program proposed by J David Lowell, with the last scheduled borehole (“Pozo 6”) hitting 52 meters of 1.51% copper. Today, Esdondida is the largest copper mine in the world controlled by BHP and Rio Tinto, producing over 1-million of the world’s 25-million tonnes of copper per year (~4%).
After Escondida, Dr. Professor Frutos was among the lead geologists which discovered the Cerro Casale gold-copper porphyry, now considered the largest gold deposit – not just in all of Chile, but on the South American continent. Cerro Casale is the cornerstone property of the Barrick-Newmont Norte Abierto Complex which hosts approximately 59-million ounces of gold and 12.5-billion pounds of copper, with a staggering gross metal value of nearly $240-billion.
Dr. Professor Jose Frutos of Gold Hart Copper
