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Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
Sat Aug 17, 2019, 03:22 AM Aug 2019

Pinera opens US$5.5B Chuqui underground

Chile’s president Sebastian Pinera has opened the new underground mine at state copper company Codelco’s Chuquicamata operation in northern Chile.

14 August 2019

The US$5.5 billion project will extend the life of the 100-year old mine for many decades and see it process 140,000 tonnes a day and produce 320,000 tonnes per year of copper and 16,000tpy of molybdenum following a seven-year transition from openpit operations. It has reserves of more than 1 billion tonnes grading 0.82% copper

"Chuquicamata is not just another project, it is unique. Its complexity and magnitude have no equal in the Chilean market; there has never been a project with this scope," said VP projects Gerhard Von Borries.

Having taken 15 years since the first engineering works were completed, Chuqui underground has seen the development of three levels underneath the openpit to a depth of 989m below the pit floor, with some 142km of tunnels built.

The pit is some 5km long and 3km wide, and produced 320,744t of copper in 2018.

https://www.mining-journal.com/events-coverage/news/1369483/pinera-opens-ususd55b-chuqui-underground

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Aug 14, 2019

Machines Replace a Third of Workforce at Giant Copper Mine
Laura Millan Lombrana and Daniela Guzman, Bloomberg News



The Codelco Chuquicamata open pit copper mine stands near Calama, Chile, , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Machines are taking over a giant Chilean copper mine, replacing about a third of the workforce as owner Codelco struggles to keep its title as the world’s largest producer of the metal.

Codelco officially inaugurated underground operations at its century-old Chuquicamata mine on Wednesday. The $5.5 billion project is the first of the state company’s multi-billion dollar effort to upgrade mining activities in order to boost productivity. The miner’s output fell to 1.68 million tons last year, from 1.73 million a year earlier as its higher-grade ore reserves decline.

About 1,700 jobs will be cut at the Chuquicamata project as operations shift to underground mining, from open pit. The switch is necessary as the state-run company aims to access higher grade ore through tunnels underneath the pit to avoid a production slump in the coming years.

“Reforms have never been painless, but we must do them,” Codelco Chief Executive Officer Nelson Pizarro said in a speech during the inauguration. “Digital transformation is our ally, the only thing that can help us satisfy environmental requirements, lower costs and empathize with communities.”

More:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/machines-replace-a-third-of-workforce-at-giant-copper-mine-1.1301673

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