Capstone achieves milestone at Mantoverde and prepares new expansion

Canada’s Capstone Copper produced the first saleable copper concentrate at its US$870mn Mantoverde project (MVDP) in northern Chile’s Atacama region, which is expected to reach capacity in Q3.

MVDP is due to achieve annual production of 110,000-120,000t in cathodes and copper concentrate and process 236Mt of copper sulfide reserves over 20 years, which represent only 20% of total sulfide resources, the Vancouver-based company said in a statement on Monday.

At the same time, a new expansion is being prepared.

Work is underway with Ausenco and Global Resource Engineering to increase production and expand the concentrator’s capacity from 32,000t/d to around 45,000t/d, the company said.

Capstone’s CEO John MacKenzie said details of the Mantoverde optimization project will be presented in a feasibility study in 3Q24, including expansions of the tailings storage area and the desalination plant, in addition to auxiliary infrastructure.

Under the MVDP project, the capacity of the desalination plant, located 40km from the deposit, was increased from 120l/s to 380l/s.

For the second expansion phase, which requires an investment of US$150mn, Capstone presented an environmental impact assessment to review agency SEA in April.

Along with modifying the MVDP plan, a cobalt line capable of producing around 1,500-2,000t/y will be incorporated that will join the integration strategy with Santo Domingo to take advantage of the project some 35km away.

Capstone seeks to create a mining district in Mantoverde and Santo Domingo that will produce copper, iron, gold and cobalt. The study to integrate the assets is planned for the end of 2024, the company said in its Q1 report.

In 1Q24, Mantoverde produced 9,500t of copper cathodes, up 11% compared to the same quarter last year, due to higher grades and recoveries, Capstone said in its operations report.

For this year, copper cathode production is expected to be 36,000-40,000t due to MVDP improvements, after registering 35,401t in 2023.

The company aims to reach maximum capacity of 60,000t/y at its SX-EW plant that processes oxide ore.

It also plans to begin an initial exploration program of US$25mn at Mantoverde in the second half of the year to find better grades and increase reserves and resources.

Mantoverde is 70% owned by Capstone and 30% by Mitsubishi Materials.