Codelco submits $1.3B plan to prolong Radomiro Tomic mine life to 2058

Chile’s state-run miner Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, on Tuesday submitted a $1.3 billion continuity project to Chile’s environmental authority to request an extension of its leaching operations at its Radomiro Tomic mine until 2058.

The proposal aims to boost the mine’s capacity to an average of 725,000 tonnes per day, up from its current level of 675,000 daily tonnes, requiring pit expansion and new waste dumps and ore stockpile areas.

The plan seeks to extend the operation of the mine’s chlorinated leaching process at an average annual rate of 154,000 tons per day.

Leaching is a method of extracting metals and minerals from rock using liquid chemicals instead of melting or crushing.

The project also seeks to provide operational continuity to its waste treatment and dumping line, which uses chemical solutions to extract copper from ore rather than smelting.

Plans include expanding support facilities and installing a hydraulic barrier system with four wells to control water infiltration in the industrial area.

The project includes truck transport of 20,000 daily tons of ore or waste per year to Codelco’s Chuquicamata facility over the next 10 years.

Codelco’s Radomiro Tomic mine is one of the company’s three most prominent mines in Chile.

(By Fabian Cambero; Editing by Natalia Siniawski)