EcuaCorriente to invest US$200mn in Mirador mine in H2

EcuaCorriente, the Ecuadoran unit of Chinese consortium CRCC-Tongguan, plans to invest US$196 million in the remainder of 2024 in various works for Mirador phase II at its Mirador copper concession.

The second phase of Mirador involves increasing ore production from the current Mirador I (south) deposit to 80,000t/d and developing the Mirador North deposit, which will produce 60,000t/d, bringing output from the new development to 140,000t/d by 2028.

The investments planned for this year include works such as building interceptor channels, access roads and equipping the Mirador Phase II beneficiation plant, the company told BNamericas.

In the first half of 2024, EcuaCorriente invested US$104mn in access roads, civil engineering for the processing plant and acquisition of major equipment, among other items. Last year the company invested US$88.5mn in equipment, environmental engineering and environmental management.

The concession is located in Zamora Chinchipe province in southern Ecuador and includes the Mirador Sur copper mine, the largest in the country.

Mirador North is located 1km from Mirador South.

PRODUCTION DOWN

In 2024, the company expects to produce 520,000t of copper concentrate, down by around 10% compared with the 575,800t seen in 2023.

According to the company, the drop is due to the fact that the ore grades at Mirador phase I are expected to decline by 0.04%.

In 2025, EcuaCorriente projects production will reach 490,000t because “as the extraction depth in the Mirador phase I pit increases, the grade of the raw ore will show a more pronounced downward trend.” 

By 2026, production will begin to rise with the additional output from Mirador phase II in the second half of that year, reaching 687,000t, according to company forecasts shared with BNamericas.