TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – With copper cathode production under way at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold's giant copper/cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the company is now looking at options for expanding the operation.

The first copper at the Tenke Fungurume project was produced in March, and the first shipment of cathode was scheduled to leave the site by truck on Wednesday, Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson told analysts and investors on a conference call.

The focus is now on completing the cobalt and acid plants at the operation, which will ramp up to its full annual capacity of 250-million pounds of copper and 18-million pounds of cobalt in the second half of 2009.

By March 31, $1,6-billion of the $1,75-billion capital cost of the first phase of the project had been incurred.

However, Freeport has consistently said that it has high hopes for significant expansions and even additional projects at the site.

At the end of 2008, the reserves at Tenke stood at 119-million tons, at 2,6% copper and 0,35% cobalt, for 5,9-billion pounds of copper and 0,7-billion pounds of cobalt.

If copper market conditions improved to justify a project to double the capacity at the operation, there are really no other constraints to prevent the expansion, Adkerson said.

Power supply would not be a problem, and the capital costs would likely be "substantially less" than the initial investment in the mine, he said.

The company is studying what the costs of such an expansion might be, and will need to decide which area of the deposit will be mined as part of the next development phase.

However, if Tenke is to be developed to its “full potential”, the company will eventually need infrastructure in place connecting the asset by rail to a port.

CONTRACT REVIEW

Freeport operates the Tenke Fungurume project and owns an effective 57,75% stake, while Toronto-based Lundin holds 24,75% and DRC State-owned miner Gécamines owns the balance.

The mining contract for the operation is one of a handful that has not yet been cleared by the DRC government, as part of its review of about 61 contracts.

However, progress continues to be made, and Freeport now expects the process will be wrapped up during the current quarter, Adkerson said.

Both Freeport and Lundin have maintained throughout the process that its contract was negotiated transparently and legitimately, and would hold up to legal scrutiny.