Name of the Mine
Carlota mine.
Location
In the Miami-Globe mining region of Arizona, in the US.
Mine Owner/s
KGHM Polska Miedź SA acquired the entire Carlota mine with the acquisition of Quadra FNX in 2012.
Brief Description
A copper mine located at an elevation of more than 1 300 m above sea level.
Brief History
Production at Carlota started in 2008, with the first copper cathode produced in the fourth quarter of the same year.
Mining operations from the openpit ceased in the Carlota-Cactus pit in 2014. However, enhanced residual copper production continued using subsurface leaching injection wells into the heap-leach pad. In 2018, mining operations in the Eder South area started.
Primary Metals/Minerals
Copper.
Secondary Metals/Minerals
None.
Geology/Mineralisation
The Miami-Globe mining district in eastern Arizona is known for economically large-scale porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum deposits, such as the Miami-Inspiration and the Cu Resolution.
The area comprises igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of various ages from the early Proterozoic to the Tertiary.
The Carlota deposit is formed by the surface mineralisation of copper oxides in the proterozoic Pinal Schist. Chrysocolla is a dominant ore mineral and usually occurs as coatings, crusts and filling in fractures and heavily desintegrated rock masses.
Reserves
Not stated.
Resources
Not stated.
Mining Method
Openpit using conventional methods.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment
Ore is transported using haul trucks.
The ore is deposited on heaps for leaching with a sulphuric acid solution. The copper-enriched solution obtained after leaching is processed at the solvent extraction-electrowinning plant to produce high-quality copper cathodes – the final product of the process.
In 2015, the site additionally introduced a subsurface leaching system.
This solution allowed for the injection of sulphuric acid under low pressure directly into the heap, which, in turn, allows for the extraction of metal that was originally not fully leached from the ore stored in the past years of production.
Prospects
Carlota's concession areas still have some potential to be explored for more oxide deposit.
Contact Details
KGHM
Tel +48 76 74 78 280
Email ir@kghm.com
Website https://kghm.com/
Sources
KGHM. https://kghm.com/ (accessed September 6, 2021).
KGHM. Integrated Report 2020.