The union at Chile’s Escondida copper mine has signed a three-year deal with BHP, ending a strike that could have threatened global supplies of the metal, reported Reuters. The agreement included changes in labour conditions such as “initiatives to optimize shift changes, increase equipment utilization and compliance with the 40-hour law,” BHP said in a statement. The mine’s union had…
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Barminco, the underground mining business unit of Perenti, has finalized discussions regarding the existing five-year mining services contract for the Khoemacau copper mine in Botswana with Khoemacau Copper Mining Proprietary Limited, a subsidiary of MMG. The continuation of the contract until 30 June 2025 will be on revised terms. Barminco is working to deliver on the current mine plan whilst…
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A truck driver has been killed at Codelco’s Radomiro Tomic copper mine in northern Chile, officials have confirmed. The heavy equipment operator, 30-year-old Ana Camila Rojas Farias, was operating in the pit area at the time of the 8 March accident; Codelco did not provide any additional details. Activities at the mine were immediately suspended. An investigation into the causes…
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Zijin Mining has received local government approval for the second phase expansion of its Julong copper mine in Tibet, reported Reuters. The expansion will raise the total capacity of the mine to around 350,000 metric tons of copper per day, and will require an investment of around 17.5 billion yuan (US$2.43 billion). “After the Julong Phase 2 Project is completed…
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FLSmidth said it has received an order to supply comminution technologies to upgrade an undisclosed customer’s copper concentrator at a mine in the Asia Pacific. The order, valued at DKK 300 million (US$43.3 million), includes the delivery of two High Pressure Grinding Rolls Pro, which FLSmidth described as being “among the most energy-efficient comminution technologies available.” The order also includes…
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State-run Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources (KOMIR) is seeking 1 trillion won (US$747.1 million) from the government of Panama over expected losses from the shutdown of the Cobre Panama copper mine, reported The Korea Economic Daily. KOMIR had acquired a 10% stake in Minera Panama, a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals, in 2009. Minera Panama is the operator of…
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Barrick has confirmed it is accelerating progress for the Lumwana copper mine’s Super Pit project in Zambia, estimating first production in 2028. Barrick President and CEO Mark Bristow advised Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema of the fast-track during a meeting on 23 January. The project includes transforming Lumwana into one of the world’s major copper mines, with projected annual production of…
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Global metals miner Zijin confirmed it produced more than one million tonnes of mined copper 2023, and now has the distinction of being the first Chinese miner to do so. In total, the company said its production was 1.01Mt, or 54% of the total output of China, 1.87Mt, in 2022. In addition to copper, Zijin also said it had a…
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Chile’s state-owned Codelco has reached an agreement on a new contract with the union representing supervisors at its Chuquicamata copper mine, reported Reuters. “Codelco appreciates and values the dialogue and shared vision of the reality experienced by the company and, in particular, Chuquicamata,” said the miner, who did not specify the financial details of the contract. The agreement, noted Codelco,…
Read MoreCanadian miner First Quantum has confirmed two fatalities, both contractors, at its Kansanshi and Sentinel operations in Zambia. The first was a worker from a Reliant Drilling at the operator’s Kansanshi open-pit copper mine in the North Western province on 23 November. The incident involved a fall of ground at the underground dewatering decline. In a separate incident on Friday,…
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