Codelco to complete Radomiro Tomic phase II sulfide project's feasibility in March next year

Chilean state copper producer Codelco plans to complete a feasibility study on its phase II sulfide project at the Radomiro Tomic division in northern region II by March next year. The company started the feasibility study on the project last month and work is expected to take one year to complete, CEO Diego Hernández said during the Expomin 2012 mining conference in capital Santiago. The feasibility study for the project, which is designed to continue replacing depleting oxide ore at the deposit with sulfide ore, is due to need US$73mn. Prefeasibility studies wrapped up in December last year, resulting in an increase in the initial investment estimate from US$2bn to US$4.5bn. A construction decision is expected for the end of 2013 and the project should start operating in 2017. Phase II involves the construction of a concentrator plant and a desalination plant to cover water requirements. Operations of the phase I sulfide project at Radomiro Tomic began in June 2010 with mined ore being processed at neighboring Chuquicamata division's concentrator. Phase I involved an investment of US$370mn, including a semi-mobile crushing machine at the open pit with capacity to process 100,000t/d of ore that is then fed into an 8.2km conveyor belt to be transported to the concentrator.