Chile-based Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, has received permission from the regional environmental regulator to extend the life of its Radomiro Tomic mine till 2030 by using new mining resources, the company said in a statement.
The Radomiro Tomic copper mine was supposed to end operations in 2022 but now the company can continue operations for seven more years from 2023 due to technological advances and processes which will now allow it to tap additional resources, it said.
This is a part of a larger plan to maintain and continue copper production from its aging operations and to keep providing resources to the country.
The company is focusing on a 10-year, $40bn initiative to update its century-old network of mines in Chile. Many mines in the country have suffered in recent years from sharply falling ore grades.
In 2020, the mine produced 261,000mt of copper.