Chile’s Codelco will start operations at its Traspaso Andina copper project in the third quarter of this year with an investment of $1.3bn.
The project will help to extend the life of its División Andina for 50 years, according to media reports.
Traspaso Andina, which consists of the construction of a new crushing line, will allow the current production capacity of División Andina to be maintained at around 83,460.90mt minerals per day and generate around 217,724.33mt of fine copper per year.
Codelco increased its production by 1.2pc to 1.72mn mt in 2020, from 1.70mn mt in 2019, according to the latest figures released by the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco).
Chile’s copper production fell by 0.87pc to 5.73mn mt in 2020, from 5.78mn mt in 2019, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cochilco.
Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, has increased its price guidance for copper to $3.30/lb. Chile’s copper production is also expected to increase by 3.6pc to 6mn mt this year, while copper output will reach 6.1mn mt in 2022.
Copper prices reached $3.92/lb on Thursday, February 18, up by 2.81pc compared to the prior day, according to data from Cochilco.