Le Cuivre

[energy_isere]

Zambie : Anglo American finalise un accord de 90 millions $ pour l’exploration du cuivre et du cobalt

Agence Ecofin 30 oct 2023

Deuxième producteur africain de cuivre, la Zambie doit encore résoudre plusieurs problèmes qui ralentissent la croissance de ce secteur. Si l’État s’y attèle, l’arrivée d’une compagnie comme Anglo American dans l’exploration devrait le conforter dans le futur reluisant qu’il prédit pour le secteur.

Les compagnies Arc Minerals a indiqué en fin de semaine dernière que toutes les principales conditions préalables à la finalisation de l’accord de coentreprise de 90 millions de dollars précédemment conclu avec Anglo American ont été satisfaites. En attendant les points « mineurs » restants, la coentreprise a été formée et a commencé l’exploration de cuivre et de cobalt sur une des licences en Zambie.

Selon les détails précédemment donnés, Anglo American devait investir jusqu’à 88,5 millions de dollars, dont 14,5 millions $ en espèces, pour obtenir 70 % dans la coentreprise. Les 30 % restant sont détenus par Arc Minerals via sa filiale Unico Minerals. La coentreprise se concentrera sur l’exploration du cuivre et du cobalt dans le district rural de Lyovu, situé dans la province du Nord-Ouest, en Zambie.

Pour le ministre zambien des Mines, Paul Kabuswe, les progrès réalisés dans la formation de cette coentreprise sont « satisfaisants ». Selon lui, l’engagement d’Anglo American en faveur d’un important programme d’exploration dans la province du Nord-Ouest est le bienvenu et permettra de débloquer davantage de richesses minérales dans le pays.

Il faut rappeler que la Zambie est le deuxième producteur africain de cuivre. Selon les prévisions du gouvernement, la production de cuivre devrait baisser d’environ 11 % en glissement annuel pour s’établir à 682 431 tonnes, en 2023. L’État espère redresser le secteur pour renouer avec la croissance dès 2024 où une production de 796 994 tonnes est attendue.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/301 ... -du-cobalt

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 18 dec 2022 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 9#p2359519

Saudis in talks with Pakistan on Reko Diq, Barrick CEO says

Bloomberg News | November 2, 2023

Saudi Arabia is in ongoing talks with Pakistan to buy part of the government’s stake in a $7 billion copper project jointly owned with Barrick Gold Corp., according to the head of the mining company.


Saudi Arabia may acquire partial ownership in Reko Diq — one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits — through an equity purchase with Pakistan’s government, Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow said Thursday in an interview.

“That’s something that is in the hands of the Pakistan government to come to a decision on,” said Bristow, who oversees the world’s No. 2 gold producer. “We would support any decision that’s made by the Pakistan government with the Saudis.”

The project, in the Balochistan region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, is capable of producing 200,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold a year for more than half a century. Reko Diq is 50% owned by Barrick, with Pakistan’s federal government holding a 25% stake and the Balochistan regional government owning the rest. Bristow said Barrick won’t dilute its equity in the project.

Pakistan’s state-owned energy exploration companies, which have a stake in Reko Diq, said in September they were looking into “potential engagement” with sovereign foreign investors, without giving details.
..............................

https://www.mining.com/web/saudis-in-ta ... -ceo-says/

[energy_isere]

prospect de cuivre au Brésil : Furnas copper project

Ero signs deal to earn into Vale’s Brazilian copper project
Ero will fund exploration and engineering works on the Furnas copper project to earn a 60% stake.

October 31, 2023

Ero Copper, a Canadian copper producer, has reached an earn-in deal with Vale Base Metals’ Salobo Metais to acquire a 60% stake in its Furnas copper project in Brazil.
........
Located 50km from VBM’s Salobo operations and 190km from Ero’s Tucumã project, Furnas is an iron oxide copper-gold project covering around 2,400 hectares of land.
..........

https://www.mining-technology.com/news/ ... t/?cf-view

[energy_isere]

La Cochilco chilienne affirme que les coûts de l'extraction du cuivre à grande échelle continuent d'augmenter

Le 24 octobre 2023

Les coûts de l'extraction du cuivre à grande échelle au Chili ont continué à augmenter en raison de la baisse de la production et de la hausse des coûts des services, selon un rapport de la Commission chilienne du cuivre (Cochilco), une société d'État, publié mardi.

Le rapport, qui couvre la première moitié de l'année, indique que le coût direct a atteint 198,8 cents par livre, soit une augmentation de 39,6 cents en glissement annuel.

"La baisse de la production et l'augmentation des coûts des services de tiers, des rémunérations et des prix des matériaux, de l'électricité et des frais de traitement et de raffinage expliquent l'augmentation des coûts au cours du premier semestre", indique le rapport, ajoutant que les petites exploitations ont été les plus touchées par l'augmentation des coûts.

Le rapport a échantillonné 22 exploitations minières, qui représentent 93,5 % de la production. Dix-neuf d'entre elles ont vu leurs coûts augmenter. Le plus petit producteur de l'échantillon a produit 102 800 tonnes de cuivre.

Le rapport note quelques facteurs qui ont contrebalancé l'augmentation des coûts, comme des crédits plus élevés pour la vente de molybdène et d'or, la diminution du coût de l'acide sulfurique, du fret et du diesel.

Le Chili abrite l'entreprise publique Codelco, premier producteur mondial de cuivre, ainsi que d'autres géants miniers tels que BHP, Glencore, Anglo American et Antofagasta.

https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/matier ... -45138168/

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 23 juin 2019 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 8#p2284698

Vedanta finalise son retour dans l’exploitation du cuivre en Zambie

Agence Ecofin 7 nov 2023

La Zambie ambitionne de produire 3 millions de tonnes de cuivre d’ici 2030, afin de mieux profiter de la hausse de la demande mondiale. Pour plus que tripler sa production, le pays a besoin d’importants investissements.

Vedanta Resources et le gouvernement zambien ont paraphé lundi 6 novembre un accord qui rétablit la propriété de la société du milliardaire indien Anil Agarwal sur Konkola Copper Mines. La société détenait en effet ces actifs qui ont été ensuite saisis par l’ancien régime en 2019, pour non-respect de certaines promesses d’investissement.

Après une longue bataille judiciaire, suivie de quelques mois de négociations, les deux parties ont convenu en septembre dernier d’un accord. En échange de la restitution des actifs, Vedanta s’est engagée à investir environ 1,2 milliard de dollars dans les opérations. La concrétisation de cet engagement financier devrait aider le gouvernement zambien dans son objectif de produire annuellement 3 millions de tonnes de cuivre d’ici la fin de la décennie.

Pour rappel, le gouvernement détient 20 % d’intérêts dans Konkola Copper Mines, contre 80 % pour Vedanta.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/071 ... -en-zambie

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 24 sept 2023 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 0#p2377190

Taseko raises additional $100 million for Florence copper project

mining.com November 6, 2023

Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO; NYSE: TGB) has secured two additional financing deals together worth $100 million for its Florence copper mine under construction in Arizona.


Tarus Mining Royalty Fund will contribute $50 million toward a royalty. It will consist of 1.95% of the gross revenue from the sale of all copper from Florence for the life of mine.

Société Générale will provide a $50 million senior secured debt facility. It will run for five years from the date of closing, with no scheduled principal repayments until the maturity date when any outstanding amounts will be repayable. The facility will have a first lien charge over the Florence assets and an unsecured guarantee from Taseko until completion.

Previous owners spent $135 million at Florence, and Taseko has spent a further $165 million since 2014. All major power, transportation, road, and rail infrastructure are in place. The project is built with in situ recovery (ISR) rather than conventional open pit or underground methods. First copper will be produced late next year or in early 2025.

The 43-101 report of March 2023 detailed a 22-year mine life with an annual production capacity of 85 million lb. of copper. When the report was written, there remained $232 million remaining to be spent to reach commercial production. Life of mine operating costs will be $0.11 per lb. of copper produced.

Florence has proven and probable reserves of 290 million tonnes grading 0.36% copper.

https://www.mining.com/taseko-raises-ad ... r-project/

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 15 dec 2019 : http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 4#p2293304

Pacific island Bougainville seeks to tap riches of closed copper mine

Bloomberg News | November 3, 2023


The idled Panguna copper-gold mine was once a major producer and one of the largest open pit mines in the world. ( Image from archives via Bougainville Copper Limited)

The leader of the South Pacific island of Bougainville aims to reopen the giant Panguna mine, which holds billions of dollars worth of copper, gold and silver. And he’s visiting the US to rally support.


Panguna, formerly operated by Rio Tinto Group, shut in 1989 after local protests over mine revenue degenerated into a civil war that killed as many as 20,000 people. Now Ishmael Toroama, who was elected president of the autonomous region in 2020, wants to tap those revenues to fund Bougainville’s independence from Papua New Guinea.

“One of the reasons I’m here in the US is looking for credible investors to be partners with a local entity in Bougainville,” Toroama said by phone during a visit to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet with leaders of the executive and legislative branches of the US government.

In 2020, the former Rio unit Bougainville Copper Ltd. that once operated the mine, estimated that it would take seven to eight years and $5 billion to $6 billion to rebuild and resume full operations. While a slowdown in global industrial activity has depressed copper this year, traders, financiers and miners are convinced that any weakness will only be short-lived given the metal’s vital role in the energy transition.



Toroama’s trip was sponsored by Numa Numa Resources, an infrastructure developer led by American John Kuhns, who was also present during the interview.

The success of the project will partly depend on earning the trust of thousands of poor landholders, many of whom remember the civil war that was triggered when communities demanding greater compensation from the mine. Bougainville Copper, which ran Paguna for 17 years, is blamed by many locals for contamination attributed to the mine. The deposit also holds reserves of gold and silver.

Bougainvilleans voted overwhelmingly for independence in a 2019 referendum that was part of a United Nations-brokered peace agreement in 2001 that helped end the war. However, independence must still be ratified by the government of Papua New Guinea, and could take years.

https://www.mining.com/web/pacific-isla ... pper-mine/

[energy_isere]

RDC : Ivanhoe Mines publie des estimations de ressources minérales pour deux gisements de cuivre

Agence Ecofin 13 nov 2023

Ivanhoe Mines exploite le complexe Kamoa-Kakula en RDC, destiné à devenir l’une des plus grandes mines de cuivre au monde. A quelques km de distance, la société est active sur le projet Western Foreland qui a déjà livré des résultats d’exploration prometteurs.

Ivanhoe Mines a publié le 13 novembre une première estimation de ressources minérales pour deux gisements situés sur le projet d’exploration cuprifère Western Foreland. Le gisement Kiala contient des ressources minérales indiquées de 5 millions de tonnes à une teneur en cuivre de 3,56 % et 16 millions de tonnes à 3,55 % de cuivre au gisement Makoko, avec un seuil de coupure de 1,5 %.

Makoko héberge par ailleurs 154 millions de tonnes de ressources minérales inférées titrant 1,97 % de cuivre, pour la même teneur de coupure (1,5 %). Ivanhoe précise que c’est la troisième plus grande découverte de cuivre au monde depuis son gisement Kakula en 2016, toujours en RDC.

Ces découvertes confirment une fois de plus le potentiel cuprifère immense de la RDC, déjà troisième producteur de cuivre et qui peut ravir au Pérou la deuxième place mondiale d’ici 2026-2027, selon Ruben Arrieta de chez Wood Mackenzie. Cette prévision s’appuie, entre autres, sur l’entrée en production de plusieurs mines de cuivre ces dernières années en RDC, notamment Kamoa-Kakula.

Selon Ivanhoe, le complexe Kamoa-Kakula devrait devenir à terme la deuxième plus grande mine de cuivre au monde, produisant plus de 800 000 tonnes par an. Les découvertes de Makoko et de Kiala sont adjacentes à ce complexe.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/131 ... -de-cuivre

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 29 oct 2023 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 1#p2379111

Ero Copper closes $111m financing to support Brazil projects
The company will also utilise the proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

November 15, 2023

https://www.mining-technology.com/news/ ... s/?cf-view

[energy_isere]

La Chine s'étend de plus en plus dans le raffinage du Cuivre. 45 % du Cuivre raffiné au monde le sera en Chine en 2023.

China tightens grip on copper, key to world’s energy transition

Bloomberg News | November 13, 2023

China is in the midst of a breakneck expansion of its copper industry that’s reshaping global flows of the essential metal for the world’s energy transition.


The Asian nation’s grip on the supply of other green metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel, used in electric vehicle batteries, has already prompted worried Western governments to encourage separate supply chains. Meanwhile, China’s production of refined copper — and its share of world output — is heading for a record this year after a burst in construction of new smelters.

The rapid ramp-up in capacity brings a fresh dynamic to a market that for 20 years has been driven in large part by how much buyers in China are willing to pay. The country will still import growing amounts of copper, but more as ore rather than refined metal.

Copper has been labeled the most important commodity in the age of decarbonization for its use in everything from EVs to wind turbines and vastly expanded power grids. Booming Chinese demand from green technologies has been a bright spot for an otherwise beleaguered world metals market in 2023.



“Like all countries, China sees a strategic need for copper — particularly now with the growth in green energy applications — and China like other countries wants to ensure self sufficiency,” said Craig Lang, principal analyst at researcher CRU Group. China will account for about 45% of global refined copper output this year, according to CRU.

The smelter build-up will be a key talking point for hundreds of copper-industry executives descending this week on China’s commodity hub of Shanghai for Asia Copper Week. Miners and smelters will negotiate key annual ore-supply contracts, and attendees will take the latest temperature of Chinese demand.

Despite the financial toll of the pandemic and China’s property crisis, the nation’s metals consumption has been relatively strong in 2023. That has probably helped copper stave off an even deeper market slump, with prices only slightly lower than this time last year.

CRU sees copper demand in China growing 5% this year, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. named copper as one of its top commodities picks for next year on a “robust green demand environment” — especially in the Asian powerhouse.

“We expect to find Chinese players slightly less cautious than may have been feared two months ago,” Colin Hamilton, managing director for commodities research at BMO Capital Markets Ltd., wrote in a note ahead of the Shanghai gathering.

Same path

The expansion of smelting capacity echoes the history of China’s other metals industries. Until 2006, the country was a net importer of steel, for example. But a wave of new capacity eventually led to a flood of exports — hurting international steelmakers and fueling global trade tensions in the pre-Trump era.

China’s copper smelting capacity will increase by another 45% by 2027, accounting for 61% of expected new plants around the world in that period, according to Carlos Risopatron, director of economics at the International Copper Study Group.



Simon Hunt, a 50-year veteran of the copper industry who now runs his own consultancy, reckons China could turn net exporter of copper by 2025 or 2026 as production booms. That’s not a consensus view, but the viability of exports is a topic of discussion in the industry.

In any case, China’s copper smelters could pile pressure on their global peers in coming years as they “pay up” to get the feedstock they need, Hunt said. The closure of older smelters in the rest of the world could be the outcome.

Net importer

For now, the rapid expansion of copper smelting capacity is triggering a race to secure copper concentrate to feed the smelters, with annual contract negotiations taking place this week against the backdrop of a tightening market for the raw material.

The treatment charges that miners pay smelters to process ore drops when concentrate is scarce. That dynamic is likely to be reflected in a fall in fees for next year to $84 a ton from $88, according to an estimate from Shanghai Metals Market.

“Global copper concentrate supply will be loose in the first half before switching to a deficit in the second,” said Mysteel analyst Meng Wenwen, who also expects a decline in fees.

At the same time, the increase in smelting is making China less dependent on imported copper metal, leading to expectations of an oversupply of the refined form that sets the price on the London Metal Exchange, the world’s benchmark.



That’s causing headaches for China’s traditional suppliers, like Chile, and has forced the world’s biggest copper producer Codelco to slash the annual premium it charges to Chinese buyers.

To be sure, China isn’t the only nation building new smelters. India, Indonesia and Africa’s copper belt are also adding capacity. And China is mulling caps on smelter expansions for environmental reasons, although restrictions are unlikely to be imminent.

Demand outlook

The Shanghai copper event comes at a time of heightened uncertainty for global growth, with major economies still at risk of recession and investors unsure whether the Federal Reserve is done with rate hikes.

On Monday, copper ticked higher from its lowest close in more than two weeks, trading at $8,053 a ton by 10:28 a.m. Shanghai time. It’s down about 3.8% this year.

Although copper analysts broadly expect a slightly slower expansion in Chinese demand next year, China is still likely to outpace the rest of the world as Beijing continues to bolster the economy. Citigroup Inc. analysts including Wenyu Yao said a stable China should “give some support to commodities consumption and prices” next year.

“There are risks, like rising metal output, but demand concerns will be more focused around the rest of the world,” said Jiang Hang, head of trading at Yonggang Resources Co. in Shanghai. “For China, there aren’t too many worries.”

https://www.mining.com/web/china-tighte ... ransition/

[energy_isere]

Un nouveau projet de mine de Cuivre en Australie : Caravel.
Avec en prime un peu d'Or er d'Argent pour favoriser le projet.

First major precious metals assessment of giant Caravel copper project

13th November 2023

ASX-listed Caravel has provided its first detailed assessment of precious metals within its giant copper project, 150 km from Perth, in Western Australia, with an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) calculating that the project contains 895 100 oz of gold and 46.3-million ounces of silver.

The precious metals contained in the MRE are expected to result in substantially higher byproduct credits, higher cashflows and lower the C1 costs, which is expected to result in a valuation increase for the project.


The updated mineral resource totals 1.276-billion tonnes at 0.24% copper, 47 ppm molybdenum, 22 ppb gold and 1.1 ppm silver for 3.03-million tonnes of contained copper, 60 600 t of contained molybdenum, 895 100 oz of contained gold and 46.2-million ounces of contained silver.

Caravel noted that recent metallurgical testwork showed an increase in precious metals recoveries, ranging between 50% and 60% for both gold and silver, up from a previous estimate of 30%. This will have a material impact on revenues assessed from precious metals credits.


The company further stated that it saw strong potential to continue growing the mineral resource base at the Caravel copper project.

The prefeasibility study completed in July 2022 defined a robust copper project capable of producing more that 60 000 t/y of copper in concentrate, generating strong cash flows over an initial 28-year mine life.

https://www.miningweekly.com/article/fi ... 2023-11-13

ah tiens, 0.24 % de cuivre, c'est pas beaucoup comme pour d'autres gisements dont j'ai parlé dans ce fil.

Mais je réalise que c'est moins que le taux de sel dans la nourriture pour un régime pauvre en sel. (ma mère trés âgée doit s'y contraindre)

Pain: environ 1,5g de sel/100g
Plats cuisinés: le sel y est souvent présent à hauteur de 0,7g/100g,..................

https://www.notretemps.com/sante-bien-e ... 0en%20plus.

Pas gagné la transition énergétique qui demande beaucoup de Cuivre.

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 10 juillet 2021 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 3#p2322313

Botswana : le chinois MMG déboursera 1,9 milliard $ pour la mine de cuivre Khoemacau et son propriétaire

Agence Ecofin 21 nov 2023

Entrée en production au Botswana en 2021, la mine de cuivre Khoemacau dispose d’une capacité de production annuelle de 60 à 65 000 tonnes de concentré. Avec les besoins considérables en cuivre en lien avec la transition énergétique, elle représente un atout indéniable pour son futur propriétaire.

Le groupe chinois MMG, basé à Melbourne en Australie et coté sur la bourse de Hong Kong, a annoncé le 21 novembre un accord visant à acquérir la société Cuprous Capital, propriétaire à 100 % de la mine Khoemacau au Botswana. La transaction est évaluée à 1,875 milliard de dollars et devrait être bouclée au cours du premier semestre 2024.

Avec cette acquisition, MMG met dans son escarcelle une mine capable de livrer annuellement 60 à 65 000 tonnes de concentré de cuivre, avec une possibilité d’agrandir la capacité de production dans la fourchette de 135 à 155 000 tonnes. Entrée en production en 2021, la mine Khoemacau a une durée de vie supérieure à 20 ans et se trouve dans la juridiction minière la plus attractive en Afrique, d’après le dernier sondage annuel du Fraser Institute.

« Khoemacau est une mine en exploitation de grande qualité, dotée d’un solide potentiel d’expansion, située dans l’une des régions minières les plus prometteuses d’Afrique, la ceinture de cuivre du Kalahari, au Botswana, et capable de soutenir les chaînes d’approvisionnement mondiales », se réjouit Jiqing Xu, président de MMG.

Pour rappel, Cuprous Capital est une société privée contrôlée à 88,1 % par Cupric Canyon Capital LP, une société détenue majoritairement par des fonds gérés par Global Natural Resource Investments, et à 11,9 % par la société d’investissements Resource Capital Funds.

Selon les informations relayées par Reuters, au moins cinq compagnies étaient en lice pour racheter la mine, dont Impala Platinum, Exxaro Resources et Sibanye Stillwater. Pour ces trois compagnies basées en Afrique du Sud, Khoemacau constituait un moyen de se diversifier dans les métaux stratégiques importants pour la transition énergétique. Zijin Mining et Aluminum Corp. of China, connue sous le nom de Chinalco, ont également manifesté un intérêt pour l’actif, ajoute Bloomberg.

Selon un rapport du cabinet Wood Mackenzie paru en octobre 2022, il faudrait 9,7 millions de tonnes de nouvel approvisionnement en cuivre sur 10 ans pour limiter le réchauffement climatique à 1,5 °C, conformément à l’Accord de Paris. Le métal rouge est utilisé dans les véhicules électriques, et pour la production et le transport des énergies renouvelables (solaire et éolien notamment).

Plusieurs pays africains sont bien placés pour profiter de la hausse de la demande de cuivre, et potentiellement des prix. Outre les deux principaux producteurs, la RDC et la Zambie, le Botswana et la Namibie font partie des pays qui peuvent mieux se positionner sur le marché.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/cuivre/211 ... oprietaire

[energy_isere]

Codelco to invest additional $720m in Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile

By NS Energy Staff Writer 22 Nov 2023

The state-owned miner already invested $5.7bn to convert the open pit into an underground mine and is currently in the process of spending $1.3bn on related infrastructure, as part of its $39bn plan to renovate its core assets in 10 years

Chile’s state-owned copper mining company Codelco is planning to invest an additional $720m to renovate its Chuquicamata copper mine, located in the north of Chile.

The company already spent $5.7bn to convert the open pit into an underground mine, as part of its $39bn plan to upgrade its core assets in 10 years.

It is currently in the process of spending $1.3bn on related infrastructure and is seeking environmental approval for design adjustments and complementary works.

The proposed operational changes at Chuquicamata, both underground and at the surface level are not expected to affect the originally authorised extraction and processing rates.

Bloomberg reported Codelco is struggling to return production to pre-pandemic levels of about 1.7 million tons per annum (mtpa) from around 1.3mtpa this year.

Through the additional $720m investment, Codelco aims to stop the decline in its overall production.

https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/c ... pper-mine/

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 6 oct 2018 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 6#p2273216

Vale expands production capacity at Salobo copper mine

Cecilia Jamasmie | November 23, 2023

Brazil mining giant Vale (NYSE: VALE) has announced that its Salobo mine has reached a capacity of 32 million tonnes per annum, following the successful completion of the throughput test for the first phase of the Salobo III expansion project.


The $1.1 billion expansion plan, launched in 2019, is set to increase the mine’s throughput capacity to 36 million tonnes per year by the final quarter of 2024.

“This achievement is a significant milestone under the Salobo streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals,” Vale said in the statement.

Under the terms of the deal with Wheaton, Salobo will receive $370 million for completion of the first phase of the Salobo III expansion project.

The remaining balance of the expansion payment will be triggered once Vale expands actual throughput above 35 Mtpa for a period of 90 days.

In addition, Wheaton (TSX: WPM) (NYSE: WPM) will be required to make annual payments of between $5.1 million to $8.5 million for a 10-year period should the Salobo complex continues to produce within certain copper grades.

At around 1,800km2, Carajás is Vale’s second largest land holding in a region known for iron oxide copper-gold deposits, of which Salobo is a prime example. The mine, the largest copper deposit ever discovered in Brazil, is estimated to hold more than 1 billion tonnes of the red metal.

The operation expansion comes at a time when miners are scrambling to either acquire copper reserves or boost production amid forecasts that demand of the metal will outstrip primary supply within the next four years. The mismatch in supply and demand is likely to result in copper prices surging 20% by 2027, according to BloombergNEF analysts.

https://www.mining.com/vale-expands-pro ... pper-mine/

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 21 nov 2021 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 6#p2330966

Codelco extracts first ore from Rajo Inca project in Salvador

Reuters | November 21, 2023

Chilean state-owned miner Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, said on Tuesday it had extracted ore for the first time from the Rajo Inca project.


Rajo Inca, which is more than 60% built, is set to formally kick off operations next year.

The initiative looks to extend the useful life of Codelco’s small Salvador mine in the north of the country.

The state-run miner is struggling to reinvigorate copper production, which is at its lowest level in 25 years, with a swath of investments in so-called “structural projects,” which includes Rajo Inca.

Striking the ore-filled rock is a key step as the Rajo Inca looks to kick off metal concentration in March of next year, Codelco said in a statement.

The mine’s concentrator plant will ramp up processing over seven months to reach 37,000 metric tons of ore a day, the firm added.

https://www.mining.com/web/codelco-extr ... a-project/