Collahuasi's Ujina-Rosario Transition Project approved
22 October, 2002
Anglo American plc announces that the Board of Directors of Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi has approved the construction of a new grinding circuit at its Ujina concentrator. This is part of the Ujina to Rosario Transition Project, which also involves transferring mine production from the Ujina to the Rosario orebody. Mine development activities are already underway and the construction of the new grinding circuit and related facilities will start in the fourth quarter of 2002.
It is forecast that the modified concentrator will start milling ore from Rosario in June 2004. The project will increase Collahuasi's concentrator throughput design capacity to 110,000 tonnes per day from 60,000 tonnes per day and will compensate for the expected decline in ore grade, thereby enabling Collahuasi to maintain copper production at approximately current levels.
The total capital cost of the transition and concentrator expansion project is estimated at US$654 million.
Notes to Editors:
Collahuasi is a joint venture between Anglo American (44%), Falconbridge (44%) and a Japanese consortium, lead by Mitsui and Co. Ltd. (12%)
Anglo American plc is one of the world's largest mining and natural resource groups. With its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, it is a global leader in gold, platinum group metals and diamonds, with significant interests in coal, base and ferrous metals, industrial minerals and forest products. The group is geographically diverse, with operations in Africa, Europe, South and North America and Australia. (www.angloamerican.co.uk)
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