BNamericas – Freeport Mc-MoRan evaluates a milling projec…
The U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan[1] is advancing the evaluation of a new milling project at its El Abra copper mine in the Antofagasta Region, with the goal of exploiting available mineral resources and increasing its annual production by approximately 340,000 tons of copper. Following the completion of a drilling campaign and technical evaluations, the company indicated in its recent third-quarter results report that it has approximately 20Blb of recoverable copper resources, equivalent to more than 9Mt, which would support the project's feasibility. The scale of the initiative would be similar to the implementation of the large-scale concentrator that Freeport developed at its Peruvian operation Cerro Verde[2].
In 2024, the two Cerro Verde concentrators achieved a combined average ore milling rate of 415,500 t/d. Preliminary estimates point to high profitability for the potential new project, supported by an incentive copper price below US£4/lb. Freeport is already conducting community engagement activities and participating in stakeholder processes while preparing the permit application and environmental impact statement (EIS), which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
The final investment decision will depend on factors such as the conditions of the global copper market, in a context of high price volatility and geopolitical complexity[3]. The new project would be added to the US£741 million initiative[4], already approved[5] by the National Environmental Assessment Service, which will modify the leach pad and optimize[6] copper recovery without increasing ore extraction or production rates. Therefore, a further expansion of the leaching operations would be key to Freeport's US£7.5 billion [7]growth[8] plan in Chile, with a possible restart by 2033.
The El Abra open-pit mine is 51% controlled by Freeport and 49% by the state-owned company Codelco[9].
The operation utilizes sulfide mineral concentration, leaching, and electrowinning processes to produce copper concentrate and cathodes.
In 2024, it recorded production of 99,096 tons of fine copper.
References
- ^ Freeport-McMoRan (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ Cerro Verde (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ complexity (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ initiative (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ approved (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ optimize (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ US£7.5 billion (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ growth (www.bnamericas.com)
- ^ Codelco (www.bnamericas.com)