Anglo American delivers first production from the Los Bronces expansion project
23 November, 2011
Anglo American announces the delivery of first copper production on schedule from its
Los Bronces expansion project in central Chile. The expansion of Los Bronces is expected to more than double (on average over the first three years of full production) the mine’s existing production of 221,000 tonnes per year(1) and is the second of Anglo American’s four major strategic growth projects to begin production during 2011.
John Mackenzie, CEO of Anglo American’s Copper business, said: “We have delivered this major expansion of Los Bronces on schedule, thanks to the admirable hard work and dedication of the entire team of up to 16,000 people who have been working on the project over the last three years. We have a 12-month ramp up period ahead until we reach full production, during which time we will be increasing processing plant throughput from 61,000 tonnes to 148,000 tonnes of ore per day.”
Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “The commissioning of the Los Bronces expansion marks the second major new project that we have delivered on schedule this year. At peak production levels, Los Bronces is expected to be the fifth largest copper mine in the world, with reserves and resources that support a mine life of over 30 years and with further expansion potential. We are driving volume growth across the most attractive commodities with a continued focus on long life assets with low cash operating costs. Our long term growth pipeline presents significant opportunities and optionality. Looking at our Copper business in particular, we have existing projects spanning Chile, Peru and the United States and exploration activities under way in several other geographies.”
Additional information:
Los Bronces is an open-cut copper and molybdenum mine located approximately 65km northeast of Santiago, Chile, at an altitude of c.4,000m above sea level. The ore is extracted, crushed and transported down a 56km slurry pipeline to the Las Tórtolas flotation plant, where copper and molybdenum concentrates are produced. The mine also produces copper cathodes.
The Los Bronces expansion project involved several sub-projects that spanned various geographical areas. A new primary crusher was installed near the Los Bronces open pit, with crushed ore being fed by conveyer through a 4.4km tunnel to the grinding plant at an area known as Confluencia. At Confluencia, a new stockpile, a grinding building (with one SAG mill and two ball mills), thickeners and other associated equipment were installed to produce the slurry.
The slurry is then transported through a 56km pipeline from the Confluencia grinding plant to a new copper and molybdenum concentrator plant (flotation) built next to the existing concentrator at the Las Tórtolas complex some 45km from Santiago at about 750m above sea level.
Due to the more than 3,000m difference in elevation between Confluencia and Las Tortolas, the pipeline system also required the construction of five choke stations to control the gravitational force of the descending slurry, and five pump stations to return water from Las Tortolas to Confluencia.
The project also called for the construction of new 220KV electric power lines to satisfy increased energy requirements, in addition to improvements to the operation’s tailings dam, fresh water supply and water recirculation systems.
At its peak of construction the Los Bronces Project employed approximately 16,000 workers directly and indirectly.
Notes:
(1) 2010 production from Los Bronces.
The schedule for delivery of first production from projects refers to the information published in Anglo American’s 2010 Annual Report.
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Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies, is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Anglo American’s portfolio of mining businesses spans bulk commodities – iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals – copper and nickel; and precious metals and minerals – in which it is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds. Anglo American is committed to the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all its businesses and geographies and to making a sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its operations. The company’s mining operations and extensive pipeline of growth projects are located in southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America and Asia. www.angloamerican.com