The Michilla Mine has been in production for several decades. The Group acquired 40% of the company in 1983 and by 1987 had defined two new ore bodies totalling 21 million tonnes of 2.5% copper. After building a solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) cathode plant in 1987, Michilla was producing 20,000 tonnes per year of copper cathodes by 1989. Today, annual cathode production is 45,100 tonnes. In addition to oxide ores, it is also using its "Cuprochlor" process to leach sulphide ores succesfully, with recoveries above 75%.
In 1997, Michilla became the first privately owned Chilean mining company to be granted London Metal Exchange brand registration and its Grade A cathodes are now traded under the marques MIC-T and MIC-P.
The current mine plan runs to the end of 2009, and Michilla is presently evaluating a plan to possibly extend this to at least 2012.
