US-based startup Jetti Resources is launching into the Chilean market with the deployment of its copper extraction technology at the El Abra copper mine, in Chile.
The use of the technology should enable the mine, which is majority owned by Freeport-McMoran, to produce more copper, while taking advantage of existing infrastructure.
Jetti’s technology will be deployed on the existing leach stockpiles at El Abra and will target more than 20-million pounds a year of incremental copper cathode production after an initial ramp-up period.
The project will leverage existing El Abra infrastructure including excess tank house capacity sufficient to process all production from Jetti’s leaching technology.
Engineering work for the establishment of Jetti’s on-site catalyst facility is already well advanced, with construction expected to commence in the first half of 2023 and commissioning expected in the second half of the year.
El Abra is an openpit copper mining complex with a large sulphide resource and an established leaching operation. In 2022, El Abra produced 200-million pounds of copper.
The deployment at El Abra represents Jetti’s second deployment at a Freeport-McMoran operation, following the commercial implementation of operations to trial Jetti’s technology at the Bagdad mine in Arizona last year.
“Real momentum is building behind the deployment of Jetti’s technology as its unique technological, commercial and environmental benefits become increasingly clear. We look forward to working with Freeport to successfully unlock profitable new pounds of copper with a low carbon footprint and with reduced water consumption,” said Jetti CEO and cofounder Mike Outwin.