Chilean miner Antofagasta (LON: ANTO) has commenced work to install a second concentrator at its Centinela copper mine in the country’s north, which will add 144,000tpa to overall production.
The US$4.4B project is already 14% advanced, the company said, adding that this week it has begun blasting in the sector where the new facility and support infrastructure will be built.
“Nueva Centinela represents the group’s confidence in copper as a fundamental material for the global energy transition, where Chile is called to be a leading country,” Antofagasta’s CEO, Iván Arriagada, said in the statement.
“The project is already promoting regional employment and the development of local suppliers, which is essential for this investment to be a relevant contribution to the region and its inhabitants,” Arriagada said.
First movements of material have also begun in the area where the new tailings will be located. According to Antofagasta, this technology minimizes the requirement for fresh water whilst maximizing its recovery.
The Centinela mine has been using this method waste storage since operations began and it will be replicated in Nueva Centinela, the company said.
The expansion project, approved in December last year, will also increase the current molybdenum plant’s capacity and a new development of the Esperanza Sur pit, with the introduction of new autonomous trucks.
Antofagasta stated that Nueva Centinela will use other advanced technologies, such as high pressure grinding rolls, crushers that operate with large rollers, and a system that will optimize the grinding process and reduce energy consumption. Nueva Centinela also includes a 6km low-friction belt to connect the crushing area and the concentration plant.
The Centinela mining complex, located in Chile’s Antofagasta region, was created in 2014 from the merger of the Esperanza and El Tesoro mines. It produces copper concentrates containing gold and silver, using a milling and flotation process among other innovative methods.
Centinela’s second concentrator is expected to start operations in 2027, employing more than 13,000 workers at the peak of the project’s construction.
