Anglo expects rebound at Peru's Quellaveco copper mine this quarter

Anglo American expects its Quellaveco copper mine in Peru to perform better this quarter and meet its goal of producing at least 300,000t of the metal in 2024.

The London-based company, which started up Quellaveco in Moquegua region in September 2022, expects to access areas with higher grades during the current quarter, which will allow it to reverse the decline in the first nine months. 

According to Anglo’s Q3 results report, its Chilean production offset the decline at Quellaveco in the quarter. The mine produced 68,700t of copper in Q3, down from 87,500t a year earlier and 75,300t in the second quarter.

In January-September, the mine produced 216,000t compared with 225,300t in the same period last year. According to Anglo, the contraction is explained by grades of 0.70% in Q3 – the lowest since operations began – but processing levels are improving and totaled 12.4Mt of ore, the highest figure to date.

To achieve the annual target of 300,000t, Quellaveco will have to produce at least 84,000t in Q4, which it has done before. In 4Q23, with an ore grade of 0.95%, the mine produced 93,700t after having processed 11.8Mt of ore.

“Grades are expected to increase in the fourth quarter as previously planned. Recoveries are also expected to increase sequentially as improvements continue to optimize the coarse particle recovery plant,” the report said.