Quellaveco deposit undergoes study

A US$5-million study by Minorco has concluded that conventional flotation is the most attractive metallurgical option at the Quellaveco porphyry copper deposit in southern Peru.

Minorco, whose subsidiary Empresa Minera de Mantos Blancos acquired an 80% interest in the property from Minero Peru in 1994, performed the study. It predicts a production rate of 60,000 tonnes per day and annual metal production of 200,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate for the first seven years. Lower grades at depth would mean that annual copper production after seven years would fall to about 140,000 tonnes, which could be sustained for another 18 years. Confirmation of the unproven resources, now placed at more than 2 billion tonnes, could permit expansion and a longer mine life.

The remaining 20% of the property is owned by International Finance Corporation.