Chile
Insight

Spotlight: Lundin’s Candelaria copper mine expansion

Bnamericas
Spotlight: Lundin’s Candelaria copper mine expansion

Toronto-based Lundin Mining submitted for evaluation an environmental impact study for a US$600mn expansion of its Candelaria copper-gold-silver mine in northern Chile's Atacama region. A final decision by the environmental evaluation service is expected by 1Q22. 

According to the BNamericas project database, the expansion is the third biggest at a Chilean copper mine submitted for environmental approval in the last two years in terms of investment, being exceeded by those at Anglo American’s Los Bronces and state copper miner Codelco’s Rajo Inca

Candelaria's current mine life will end in 2030, but Lundin has identified additional reserves and resources of approximately 350Mt of copper that will contribute to extend the life for 10 more years, the company says. 

Lundin plans to increase the mining rate in the open pit and in the underground operation, but the project will also include a new open pit named La Española, which is due to go into production by 1Q24. The underground operation will have a new crushing system and the waste material disposal area of the whole project will be expanded. 

By 3Q23, the desalination plant's current capacity of 500l/s will be increased by 70-100l/s, and from 1Q22 the port area will have copper concentrates storage capacity of approximately 60,000t. 

Candelaria’s expansion will involve maintaining processing at a rate of 90,000t/d with maximum capacity of 115,000t/d. The underground mine will contribute 26,000t/d. 

Construction is planned to start by 1Q22, generating 905 new jobs. During the production stage, the expansion will generate 430 jobs, according to the company. 

Lundin said it is willing to assume a number of commitments to mitigate the environmental impact of the expansion, such as replace diesel vehicles for electric ones, remove tailings from an abandoned dam with an investment of up to US$500,000, notify surrounding communities of the blasting schedule and allow local visitors to the desalination plant. 

During the BMO Capital Markets conference call this month in Florida, the company reported that Candelaria copper production increased 9% in 2019 to 146,330t. Output is projected at approximately 180,000t/y through 2020-29, but no figure was provided for after that. 

The mine is 80% owned by Lundin and 20% by Sumitomo. 

State copper commission Cochilco forecasts that Chile will produce 7.04Mt of fine copper by 2030, an increase of 20.7% compared with 2018. Beside Candelaria, another seven major projects currently in the feasibility stage will contribute to the rise. 

Subscribe to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin America with different tools for Providers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance industries.

Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.

Other projects in: Mining & Metals (Chile)

Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.

  • Project: Lobo-Marte
  • Current stage: Blurred
  • Updated: 1 month ago

Other companies in: Mining & Metals (Chile)

Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.

  • Company: Dexima SpA  (Dexima)
  • The description contained in this profile was extracted directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been machine...
  • Company: Distribuidora Portland S.A.  (Portland Chile)
  • The description contained in this profile was extracted directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been machine...
  • Company: Manuchar Chile S.A.  (Manuchar Chile)
  • The description contained in this profile was extracted directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been machine...
  • Company: Proquiel Químicos SpA  (Proquiel Químicos)
  • The description contained in this profile was extracted directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been machine...