Anglo American, following the receipt of final regulatory clearances and after successful testing, has started long-awaited commercial operations at its Quellaveco mine in Peru.
Chief executive Duncan Wanblad said the mine, which is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes annually of copper equivalent volume on average over the first decade of life, could add as much as 10% to its global output and take its total production to 1 million tonnes per year overall.
“At a highly competitive operating cost, Quellaveco exemplifies the asset and return profile that is central to our portfolio quality and our ability to provide customers with a reliable and sustainable supply of future-enabling metals,” he added.
Ruben Fernandes, CEO of Anglo American’s Base Metals business, noted that Quellaveco was designed to be one of Anglo American’s and South America’s most technologically advanced mines, incorporating autonomous drilling and haulage fleets – a first in Peru – a remote operations centre, as well as a number of Anglo American’s digital and advanced processing technologies.
“Drawing its electricity supply entirely from renewables, Quellaveco is setting an example of a low emission mine producing a critical metal for decarbonising the global economy – copper. In Quellaveco, we can see FutureSmart Mining in action,” he said.
Quellaveco will ramp up fully over the coming 9-12 months. Production guidance for Quellaveco in 2022 is being revised to 80,000-100,000 tonnes of copper (previously 100,000-150,000) after complete testing, and production guidance for 2023 and 2024 is unchanged at 320,000-370,000 t.
Source: Anglo American