JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The phased start-up at diversified North American miner Thompson Creek Metals’ $1.5-billion Mt Milligan openpit copper/gold operation, in central British Columbia, in Canada, has gotten under way with the first feed delivered to the concentrator on August 15.
“We are pleased to report that we have processed the first feed material through the concentrator as scheduled and that everything went as planned. All of us at Thompson Creek are proud of this achievement and look forward to the initial production of copper and gold concentrate at Mt Milligan in the third quarter,” Thompson Creek chairperson and CEO Kevin Loughrey commented.
The miner stated that routine testing and commissioning of all equipment and process circuits would continue throughout the start-up period, with concentrate production expected within the next several weeks.
The operation was expected to reach commercial production in the fourth quarter of this year, producing 60 000 t/d of ore over a 22-year mine life.