For used mining equipment for sale, visit our Website: http://www.msloaneconsulting.comBHP Billiton's Spence copper cathode project is located 1,700m above sea level in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, close to the mining town of Sierra Gorda, 50km south west of Calama and 150km north east of Antofagasta. Feasibility studies were completed in 2002 with mine approval granted in 2004.
It is one of the company's newer projects, with the first copper cathode extracted in 2006. The mine reached design capacity in the third quarter of 2007, after which it was able to reach the current annual production rate of 200,000t of copper cathode.
Spence is the first greenfield large-scale mining project to be developed in Chile in six years and the first large SX-EW (solvent extraction and electrowinning) project constructed globally this decade.
Commenting at the opening, BHP Billiton president base metals, Diego Hernandez said: "This is an outstanding asset that incorporates global best operating practice and the latest technology."
Construction of the mine was undertaken at a cost of around $1bn, with annual capex estimated at around $20m. Around 90% of the engineering was undertaken in Chile, and 99% of the management team is Chilean nationals.
