Teck inaugurates US$8bn QB2 copper project

Canadian miner Teck inaugurated its US$8.2bn Quebrada Blanca Phase II (QB2) copper project in Chile on Thursday, linking the production chain from the deposit to the company's port in Tarapacá region.

The new operational phase will extend the useful life by 27 years and enable production of 320,000t/y in the first five years.

The megaproject has a green seal, as it uses only desalinated water from Teck’s 1,000l/s plant at Patache port, which will also handle copper concentrate exports. In addition, it will obtain 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

“QB2 is a great milestone in our portfolio and for the future, as it will allow us to deliver the essential minerals the world needs. In the fight against climate change, copper is the most important commodity for the energy transition,” CEO Jonathan Price said during the opening ceremony, in which President Gabriel Boric also took part.

The company is planning to expand the capacity of the QB2 mill, but recently withdrew the proposal from the environmental evaluation system.

Vice president for South America, Amparo Cornejo, told BNamericas that the decision came in response to feedback from authorities. “We decided to withdraw the environmental impact assessment from the process, since there was no space to introduce new information and make modifications. It seemed to us that the most opportune thing was to withdraw it, review it and understand it to present a new assessment,” she said.

The head of port construction, Jorge Herrera, told BNamericas on the sidelines of the ceremony that the desalination plant has a flow rate of 3,600m3/h, which required development of four and a half years, but will be "rewarded with the significance QB2 will achieve both domestically and internationally."

Andrés Flores, project manager at Chilean firm Abengoa, responsible for the construction of QB2’s electrical substations and electromechanical assemblies, said that at one stage 3,000 people had to be hired and that the contract with Teck grew to almost eightfold during development, in value and number of workers. "Now we will see the fruits of the finished work," he said.

Price announced further expansion plans in Chile.