Collahuasi forecast to produce 21.5% more copper this year

Chile's Collahuasi copper mine in northern Region I forecasts production of between 475,000t and 480,000t of copper this year, up to 21.5% more than in 2003, local press reported. In 2005, the mine is forecast to produce 500,000t of the red metal, thanks to a US$654mn expansion commissioned in April of this year, Collahuasi CEO Thomas Keller told reporters on the sidelines of a mining investment seminar. "The curve of the ramp-up of the expansion project has been quite successful. We're producing at design [capacity] and have been maintaining those levels," Reuters quoted Keller as saying. Last year the mine produced about 395,000t of copper, of which 330,000t was copper contained in concentrates and 65,000t cathodes. The expansion involved transferring the bulk of mining from the Ujina to Rosario pit, a distance of a few kilometers, and installing a new milling circuit to take throughput to 110,000t/d from 60,000t. The aim is to keep copper output at an average 400,000t/y over the 24-year mine life. Collahuasi is owned by the UK's Anglo American (LSE: AAL) (44%), Canada's Falconbridge (TSX: FL) (44%) and a Japanese consortium headed up by Mitsui (12%).