Antapaccay dispatches first copper in concentrate production
Brisbane, 27 November 2012
Xstrata Copper?s Antapaccay copper mine in southern Peru commenced production of commercial grade copper in concentrates at the beginning of November and has delivered its first shipment to Matarani Port for delivery to customers worldwide.
Plant commissioning activities continue as Antapaccay progressively ramps up to the nameplate processing capacity of 70,000 tonnes per day in the first half of 2013. The mine will produce an average of 160,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate per annum, plus gold and silver by-products, in the initial years of production.
Antapaccay is a major copper operation with a mine life of more than 20 years, including a new mine and state-of-the-art concentrator facility. The mine is located approximately 10 kilometres from our Tintaya open pit mine, where mining activities are scheduled to end in the coming months, and benefits from Tintaya?s existing administrative and logistics infrastructure and experienced workforce.
On average, 4,250 direct jobs were generated during construction with more than 6,500 people employed at its peak. 100% of unskilled labour was drawn from the surrounding area providing extensive training and promotion opportunities for local people. The Antapaccay mine will employ a permanent workforce of around 1,400 people, with the majority of workers transferring from the existing Tintaya mine as it closes, and will create further opportunities for local employment.
Xstrata Copper Chief Executive Charlie Sartain said:
?I am delighted to announce that we commenced production at our major Antapaccay project on schedule and in line with the original budget of $1.5 billion, a significant achievement for a project undertaken through a period of industry inflation and global economic uncertainty.
?Antapaccay is the culmination of a strategy we initiated six years ago when we acquired the Tintaya operation in 2006. In this short space of time, we have added substantial value for the company, local communities and Peru through the successful management of the Tintaya mine; the confirmation of a further 1.3 billion tonnes of mineral resources in the district; the completion of conceptual and feasibility studies for the Antapaccay development; and now with the construction of a major, long-life mine.
?This strategy has resulted in important reinvestment in the Cusco region and Espinar province where our operations were due to close in 2012 with the completion of the Tintaya open pit. Antapaccay extends and increases Tintaya?s contribution to important local infrastructure, ongoing opportunities for local suppliers, skills training and enterprise development, royalty and tax payments and substantial voluntary annual investment in community projects and partnerships.?
The Antapaccay deposit has recently been expanded by 30% to an estimated total Mineral Resource of over 1 billion tonnes at a grade of 0.49% copper using a cut-off grade of 0.15% copper, including gold and silver by-products. The Mineral Resource contains 5 million tonnes of copper metal.
The highly attractive Tintaya geological district also hosts the Coroccohuayco deposit, with a current Mineral Resource of 324 million tonnes at a grade of 0.93% copper, and a number of exploration targets within our extensive mineral tenements.
Photos, videos and further information about our Tintaya Antapaccay operations in Peru are available on the web-based version of this press release on Xstrata Copper?s website: www.xstratacopper.com
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Xstrata Copper contacts:
Emily Russell |
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Domingo Drago |
Notes to editors
About Xstrata plc
We are a major producer of a range of vital commodities used in everything from constructing buildings and delivering electricity, to developing jet engines and mobile phones. We are one of the top five global producers of copper, thermal and metallurgical coal, ferrochrome, zinc and nickel and we also produce silver, lead, platinum, gold, cobalt and vanadium.
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Switzerland, we operate in over 20 countries and employ over 70,000 people at more than 100 operations and projects around the world. We work in a responsible and sustainable way, with an entrepreneurial spirit and dynamic approach. For more information, visit www.xstrata.com
About Xstrata Copper
We are the fourth largest global copper producer and one of the world?s largest producers of smelter, refined and recycled copper, including from third party materials. The copper we produce is essential to our modern society, being used extensively in electronic, consumer and building products, and with its use in green-technologies, anti-microbial applications and ability to be recycled, it is playing a vital role in our sustainable future.
Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, we have operations and projects in eight countries and employ over 20,000 people. We play an essential role in the communities in which we live and work, by providing jobs, training, infrastructure, income for suppliers and support for social development. For more information, visit www.xstratacopper.com
About Antapaccay
Our Antapaccay open pit mine and processing facilities are located 4,100 metres above sea level in the Yauri district of Espinar Province in southern Peru?s Cusco Region approximately 10 kilometres from our Tintaya operation. Since acquiring Antapaccay in 2006, we have rapidly advanced the project through conceptual and feasibility studies to full construction. Antapaccay is a major new copper operation with a mine life of more than 20 years. It will initially produce an average of 160,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate per annum, plus gold and silver by-product credits.
During construction of Antapaccay, we provided over 90,000 hours in technical and safety training allowing us to create 10,000 jobs, employ over 3,000 local people on project construction and related works and promote local industry development. The Antapaccay mine will employ a permanent workforce of around 1,400 people, with the majority of workers transferring from the existing Tintaya mine as it closes, and will create further opportunities for local employment. All unskilled labour will be drawn from the local community.
Mining activities at Tintaya are scheduled to cease in the coming months. We acquired our Tintaya operation for $750 million from BHP Billiton in 2006, including the Antapaccay and Coroccohuayco projects.