Construction of the Quebrada Blanca copper mine is on schedule and within budget, according to three Vancouver-based companies with interests in the Chilean project.
Cominco (TSE) has a 38.2% interest, Teck (TSE) holds 29.2% and Cominco Resources International (TSE) holds 9%. The remainder is held by Chilean companies.
So far, about 75% of the total capital cost of US$260 million has been spent or committed. Construction of a 135-km-long access road is well-advanced, as are office and accommodation facilities and a 35-km-long water pipeline. Mining of overburden is about 60% completed and pre-stripping is expected to be finished by November. The crushing plants should be operational by year-end. The leaching and solvent extraction-electrowinning units will be completed in early 1994, allowing cathode copper production to begin in the first half of the year.
The partners report that operation of an on-site pilot plant led to the development of techniques that will allow improvements in the first year’s production, beyond that proposed in the original plan.
Teck said the range of the leaching process is greater than expected, “reaffirming the appropriateness of the choice of the bacterial leaching process for cathode copper production.”
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