Canada-based diversified resources company Teck Resources has submitted the social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) for its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB Phase 2) mine project in northern Chile to the Region of Tarapacá Environmental Authority.
The SEIA has been submitted as part of the regulatory process involved with QB Phase 2. The proposed project will extend the current mine life.
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Teck noted that QB Phase 2’s updated feasibility study includes capital and operating cost estimates for the project, which are scheduled to be complete by the first quarter of next year.
Should the application be successful, regulatory approvals are not expected before mid-2018.
Teck Resources president and CEO Don Lindsay said: “Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 is a long-life asset that will operate through multiple price cycles and generate significant value for many years.
“Our regulatory submission outlines the significant economic and social benefits that this project would generate for the region, as well as extensive proposed environmental mitigation measures, including the first large-scale use of desalinated seawater for mining in Chile’s Tarapacá Region.”
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By GlobalDataThe QB Phase 2 project is currently undergoing project optimisation work, and will require an investment of $4.5bn to $5bn with an initial mine life of 25 years.
New capital cost estimate of the project will include a 140,000t per day concentrator and related facilities, as well as a new port facility and desalination plant.
It also includes concentrate and desalinated water pipelines.
QB Phase 2 is estimated to have an annual production capacity of more than 250,000t of copper and 8,000t of molybdenum in concentrate for the first ten years of mine operation.
