Our strategy for our copper business is to find or acquire, develop and operate long life, low cost mines in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Fernando Arcaya, truck operator and Catherine Gonzalez, truck operator at Los Bronces, ChileIn Chile we have interests in six copper operations. These
operations consist of the wholly-owned Los Bronces, El Soldado,
Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde mines, the Chagres smelter and a 44%
interest in the Collahuasi mine. The mines also produce associated
by-products such as molybdenum and silver.
We also have controlling interests in the Quellaveco and
Michiquillay copper projects in Peru and a 50% interest in the
Pebble project in Alaska.
Growth opportunities
Our Los Bronces Development project is on track to deliver first production in the final quarter of 2011, raising our total attributable copper production to more than 900,000 tonnes a year by 2012. Additional growth in the short to medium term will come from the Quellaveco project in Peru, and from Collahuasi, where studies are in progress into further expansion following the announcement of a more than 40% increase in reserves and resources.
We are continuing work on evaluating the development options for the resources acquired in 2007 at Michiquillay in Peru and Pebble in Alaska, with pre-feasibility studies under way in both projects in 2011.
In Chile, we are conducting extensive exploration around the two high quality copper prospects near Los Bronces at Los Sulfatos and San Enrique Monolito.