Xstrata Copper / South America
Antamina Mine
Xstrata Copper: World > South America
| Detail label | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Peru, South America |
| Products | Copper and Zinc |
| Employees | Approximately 1,400 people |
| Annual production capacity | Approximately 275,000 tonnes of copper and 165,000 tonnes of zinc |
| Website | http://www.antamina.com/En_index2.html |
Description of Operation
The Antamina open pit mine is located in the Andes Mountains in northern Peru, approximately 270 kilometres northeast of Lima, at an elevation of 4,300 metres. It is operated by a joint venture company, Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. The joint venture partners are Xstrata (33.75%), BHP Billiton (33.75%), Teck-Cominco Limited (22.5%) and Mitsubishi Corporation (10%). Xstrata acquired the partnership through its acquisition of Falconbridge in August 2006. Xstrata Copper and Xstrata Zinc are represented on the Board and Advisory Committee of the company.
Reserves are extracted by open pit mining followed by conventional grinding and flotation to produce concentrates. The concentrates are slurried and transported by a 300 kilometre pipeline to the Pacific coast, where they are filtered for shipment.
Brief History of the Operation
Antamina began commercial production in October 2001 following two years of exploration and three years of construction at a capital cost of $2.3 billion, the most significant investment in Peruvian mining history.