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 H1 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 kilometerss 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 labor 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.
Mr Charlie Sartain CEO of Xstrata Copper said that “I am delighted to announce that we commenced production at our major Antapaccay project on schedule and in line with the original budget of USD 1.5 billion a significant achievement for a project undertaken through a period of industry inflation and global economic uncertainty.”
Mr Sartain said that “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.”
He said that “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.”
