An aerial view of the Rio Doce (Doce River) on November 23, which was flooded with
mud afterNow producing copper concentrate and expected to reach commercial production
status in March, the jointventure
Jabal Sayid mine—shown here in the late construction
stage—is located about 200 miles inland from
the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
(Photo: Saudi Arabian Mining Co.)
In a ceremony held in January, Chilean
President Michelle Bachelet officially
opened Codelco’s newest mine, Ministro
Hales. After touring the facilities of the
open-pit operation and climbing aboard one
of its haul trucks, Bachelet said, “We are
setting a historic milestone…because we
are taking the first step of many that we will
take to keep Codelco at the forefront of
world mining, while driving the development
of Chile. To talk about Codelco is to
talk about our history, it is also to talk about
our present, and—more than any other
thing—it is to talk about the future.”
Nelson Pizarro, CEO of Codelco, highlighted
the early accomplishments of the new division.
“We are heading toward a more efficient
and productive way to mine, with lower operating
costs, which will provide a greater return
for the owner,” Pizarro said. “In just one year
of operation, Ministro Hales has become our
most productive operation, yielding 67 metric
tons (mt) of fine copper per person.”
The deposit contains more than 1.3
million tons of copper, with an average ore
grade of 0.96%, Cu. The mine will operate
as an open-pit operation for 14 years
before transitioning underground. Total
mine life is estimated at 50 years.
Construction on the $3.2 billion project
began in September 2010. Waste rock
removal work during its prestripping phase
was reportedly the largest in history, involving
removal of 228 million tons of material.
As featured in Womp 2016 Vol 02 - www.womp-int.com