Mount Toromocho is a mountain in the Junín Region, Peru that sits next to the long established mining camp of Morococha and hosts a large polymetallic metal deposit.
[1] The mineralisation on Toromocho has been known and mined on a small scale for many years and was drilled by both the Cerro de Pasco Corporation and its successor (after nationalization) Centromin[2] between 1966 and 1976 but it was evidently not considered worth exploiting, possibly due to lack of finance in the case of Centromin and the spectre of nationalization in the case of Cerro, or because it did not look economically viable at the prevailing metal prices.
High tension power lines pass close by (although inadequate for Toromocho at present) as does the Central Railroad though part of this may have to be relocated as it runs over the projected limit of the open pit.
Neither humans nor diesel powered machinery work very well at that altitude as anyone who travels up from Lima on the main road over the 4,818 metres (15,807 feet) El Ticlio pass realises as the engine starts to struggle towards the top.
Also there is anecdotal evidence of geologists being quite unable to understand their notes made on top of the mountain due to the befuddling of their minds by the lack of oxygen.
Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), will suppress the talc in the flotation process but it has the unfortunate side effect of reducing molybdenum recovery.