Antofagasta plans to invest $4.4 billion to construct a second concentrator plant at its Centinela copper project in Chile which will add 170,000 tons of copper-equivalent per year to the company's output.
Critical path works will begin immediately, with full construction expected to start after definitive project finance documents have been executed in the first quarter of 2024, Mining Weekly reports. Antofagasta aims to reach its long-term goal of producing 900,000 tons of copper per year thanks to the new concentrator plant.
"The Centinela second concentrator project is a key element of our profitable growth strategy as it will add a further 170 000 copper-equivalent tonnes a year of production, with first copper expected in 2027," the company said.
The project will include the construction of a new concentrator plant with a capacity of 95,000 tons of ore per day with reduced energy consumption. It will also include the expansion of the existing raw seawater pumping and transport system; the construction of a new tailings storage facility; investment in the capacity growth in energy and other input supply infrastructure; and the expansion of outbound logistics networks, such as the concentrate transport system and critical port infrastructure.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
