Escondida Copper Mine, Chile
Key Data:
Producer of
Copper
Location
Northern Chile
Ownership
BHP-Billiton (57.5%), Rio Tinto (30%), JECO Corporation (10%), International Finance Corporation (2.5%)
Geology type
Copper porphyry deposit with primary sulphides overlain by secondary oxides
Mineral type
Primary – chalocopyrite and bornite; Secondary – covellite and chalcocite
Reserve base
3,900Mt proven and probable (2005)
Annual production
87.7Mt of sulphide ore, yielding 1.17Mt of copper, 139,000oz of gold and 5.9Moz of silver (2005/06)
Mining method
Open pit
Processing method
Sulphide ore – SAG milling and flotation to recover concentrates; Oxide ore – acid leaching and electro-winning to produce copper cathodes
Employment
2,200
Key Equipment:
Open pit
Bucyrus 495 electric mining shovels
Caterpillar 793B and 973C haul trucks
Komatsu 830E haul trucks
Bucyrus 49-R and 49-RII electric drills
Ingersoll Rand DMM2 diesel-powered drill
Wenco International fleet management system
Contractors
Pre-stripping: Cia. Minera del Pacifico
Plant: Fluor Daniel
Pipeline: PSI-JRI Ingenieria
Port: Sandwell
Accommodation: Sabinco
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