Mining company Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) is moving forward with its capital investment program in the Inca country, valued at US$2.9 billion, SCC Chairman of the Board German Larrea affirmed.
"Our capital investment program is going ahead as scheduled. In Peru, completion of equipment installation for the US$1.2-billion expansion of Toquepala [mine] is due by the second quarter of 2018, and start of operations is slated for the third quarter of 2018," Larrea said.
Expansion of the said open-pit mine will contribute 100,000 additional tons to annual
copper production, as well as 3,100 tons of molybdenum.
On the other hand, the SCC representative addressed Cuajone's Heavy Mineral Management Optimizing Project, which includes an on-site primary crusher, conveyor belts and two high-performance tailings thickeners.
"Start up of this project is underway. We expect it to be operating at full capacity by end-3Q17, improving efficiency, as well as reducing costs and environmental impact in Cuajone operations," the mining tycoon pointed out.
Southern Copper Corporation is thus on its way to complete its growth program to boost annual production capacity to 1.2 billion tons of
copper by 2021, Larrea said.
Projects in Peru
The corporation currently has five major
copper investment projects in Peru.
1. Toquepala Expansion Project (Tacna region): The US$1.2 billion venture includes a new state-of-the-art concentrator to increase Toquepala's
copper production to 217,000 tons in 2018 and to 260,000 tons in 2019.
2. Toquepala
High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) System: The venture seeks to guarantee full milling capacity (117,000 tons of
copper a year) operation of the current concentrator.
3. Cuajone's Heavy Mineral Management Optimizing Project (Moquegua region): The project consists in "installing a primary crusher at the Cuajone mine pit with a conveyor system for moving the ore to the concentrator" in order to optimize the hauling process.
"This is to be achieved by replacing rail haulage, thereby reducing operating and maintenance costs as well as the environmental impact of the Cuajone mine," SCC said in a release.
4. Cuajone Tailing Thickeners Project: The new concentrator will replace two of the three existing thickeners with new high-performance equipment. SCC thus seeks to streamline the concentrator flotation process and improve water recovery efficiency.
5. Tia Maria: The mining firm has reported completion of all engineering, as well as the obtention of the environmental impact assessment.
(END) MDV/JJN/DHT/MVB