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eportaje / news report<br />
Foto / Photo: Juan Carlos Recabal – LATINOMINERIA<br />
Los Pelambres, controlada por Antofagasta Minerals.<br />
Los Pelambres, controlled by Antofagasta Minerals.<br />
año. Posteriormente, la fase II aumentará<br />
la producción a 237.000 toneladas, por<br />
lo que la faena tendría una vida útil de 20<br />
años, con una ley de cobre fino de 0,39%.<br />
El Consejo Minero, asociación que<br />
agrupa a las grandes mineras con presencia<br />
en Chile, ha estimado que los proyectos<br />
de cobre, oro, plata y molibdeno<br />
en ejecución en el país suman US$30.000<br />
millones a 2018. La Comisión Chilena del<br />
Cobre (Cochilco), en tanto, ha informado<br />
que las iniciativas en ejecución, estudio y<br />
preinversión entre 2013 y 2021 totalizan<br />
una inversión de US$112.000 millones.<br />
En la Cena Anual de la Minería de Sonami,<br />
Alberto Salas, presidente de la entidad,<br />
señaló que de los US$110.000 millones<br />
que el organismo calculó en inversiones<br />
para los próximos diez años, actualmente<br />
US$43.000 millones estan en proceso de<br />
to cost US$1.9 billion and produce<br />
85,000 tons annually during its first<br />
ten years, is due to enter production<br />
in 2015, according to Amsa’s CEO<br />
Diego Hernandez. Looking further<br />
ahead, the company’s plan is to develop<br />
the Centinela District in the<br />
Region of Antofagasta. “We have<br />
a portfolio of projects and various<br />
options. The first is to extend the life<br />
of El Tesoro and we are developing<br />
the Encuentro Oxides project to do<br />
that. The second project is to reach<br />
nominal capacity at Esperanza and,<br />
at the same time, study the possibility<br />
of increasing its capacity marginally.<br />
We are studying if this can<br />
be done in one stage or many, but<br />
it will probably be in several,” says<br />
Hernandez.<br />
Anglo American, which in Chile<br />
operates the Los Bronces, Mantos<br />
Blancos, El Soldado and Mantoverde<br />
mines and the Chagres smelter, as well<br />
as owning 44% of the Doña Inés de Collahuasi<br />
mine, lifted copper production<br />
17% in 2013, to 774,700 tons.<br />
The company is currently carrying<br />
out exploration at Los Sulfatos and Los<br />
Bronces Sur. The first contains resources<br />
totaling 1.2 billion tons with an average<br />
ore grade of 1.46% copper and<br />
0.02% molybdenum, while at Los Bronces<br />
Sur, they have so far found 900 million<br />
tons of ore, grading 0.81% copper<br />
and 0.02% molybdenum.<br />
Looking ahead<br />
According to Sonami’s estimates,<br />
Chilean copper production should rise<br />
by 5% this year to over six million tons,<br />
with exports worth US$45 billion. A large<br />
part of the increase will come from new<br />
operations, such as Ministro Hales and<br />
marzo–abril / march–april 2014 l Latinominería l 13
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