The Spence operation, in Chile
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The expanded Spence copper project, in Chile, is expected to hit its production stride within the next 12 months.
Miner BHP on Tuesday reported that the Spence Growth Option had achieved its first copper concentrate production in December of last year, on schedule and on budget, with first copper sales expected in the March quarter of this year.
The ramp-up to full production capacity is expected to take 12 months, at which point Spence will be producing at an average rate of 300 000 t/y over the first four years.
First molybdenum production from Spence is also expected in the middle of this calendar year, following completion of the molybdenum plant.
The $2.4-billion Spence Growth option project includes a new 95 000 t/d concentrator that will increase payable copper-in-concentrate production by around 185 000 t/y in the first ten years of operations, and will extend the mining operations by more than 50 years.