Antamina ships first concentrate (July 16, 2001)

The massive new copper mine at Antamina in north-central Peru has shipped its first load of concentrate, putting the project ahead of its scheduled start of commercial production.

The Antamina mill, designed to process 70,000 tonnes of ore daily, is operating at close to that level already, and the project’s operators are now predicting the mine will be in full commercial production by the end of the year, two months earlier than expected.

A shipment of 16,200 tonnes of copper concentrate is leaving port for the Murdochville smelter of Noranda (NRD-T), and is expected to arrive at Gasp, Que., in late July. Noranda, which holds 33.75% of the project, shares ownership with BHP Billiton (BHP-N), which holds 33.75%, Teck (TEK-T), which owns 22.5%, and Mitsubishi, which has 10%.