Altiplano Metals has reached an agreement with SBX Chile for the acquisition of a mill and processing plant for its Farellon copper mine in northern Chile.
The move will offer cost reductions and improved metal prices for the Canadian miner, the company said in a news release on Tuesday.
The transaction entails the purchase of crushing and grinding equipment along with a flotation plant with the capacity to process 5,000mt of ore every month from the Farellon facility.
Altiplano also signed a land agreement to document the plant’s location from the mine. The construction of the new plant site is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2020.
Alastair McIntyre, chief executive officer, Altiplano expressed that adding the processing plant will allow the company better processing capability and that the company will source local equipment to support the area businesses.
The Farellon mine is a high-grade structure with the capability and authorization to produce 5,000mt of iron-oxide-copper per month. The company has mined about 2.24mn lb (1,016mt) of copper from mineralized copper material with an average copper grade of 1.8pc since the first quarter of 2018.