Chile’s Antofagasta Region, 1,350 km north of Santiago
Shareholders:
70% Antofagasta plc, 30% Marubeni Corporation
Ore Reserves:
232.7 million tonnes @ 0.62% copper
Mineral Resources:
276.3 million tonnes @ 0.59% copper
Figures as of December 2010
El Tesoro is a deposit located in Chile’s Antofagasta Region, 1,350 km north of Santiago. It now comprises two open-pit mines feeding a heap-leach operation and a run-of-mine (“ROM”) leaching operation, which produces copper cathodes using a solvent-extraction electro-winning process.
Pre-stripping of the Mirador deposit commenced in December 2010, with production from this satellite deposit expected to commence in the final quarter of 2011. This is expected to result in reduced costs at El Tesoro while the deposit is mined in the three-year period to 2014, as well as extending El Tesoro’s mine life to 2022. For 2011, the initial forecast for cathode production is approximately 96,000 tonnes.
