Marcobre prepares up to US$374mn in modifications at Peru copper mine

Peru’s Marcobre, which operates the Mina Justa copper mine, plans modifications to the site involving up to US$374mn.

The company – owned by Peru’s Minsur (60%) and Chile’s Alxar Internacional (40%) – is preparing up to 19 modifications to expand the capacity of the open-pit mine in Ica region, south of Lima.

That is according to a report known as an ITS that the company sent to environmental certifier Senace outlining the proposed modifications to the detailed environmental study for Mina Justa and which is being reviewed.

Companies submit an ITS to the regulator when they propose modifications that will not have a significant environmental or social impact and are generally within the area already under concession. The report was prepared by consultancy WSP, and the detailed schedule can be downloaded from the Documents box in the top-right corner of the screen.

According to the energy and mines ministry, Marcobre is one of the few copper companies that has experienced a double-digit drop in production this year. In January to August, Mina Justa produced 75,645t of copper, down from 101,426t in the same period last year.

The proposed modifications involve expanding the main pit by 15% and the Magnetita pit by 13.4%.

Other main works are:

	Estimated budget (US$ million)
Implementation of ore sorting circuit in sulfide plant	94.7
Tailings dam design reconfiguration	77.5
Improvements in the distribution and drainage of vats at the oxide plant	72.9
Modification of the camp	25.2
Implementation of a new seawater line	19.8

Source: Marcobre

According to Marcobre's schedule, the works will take between one and four years.