The Antamina copper-zinc project is breaking new ground in the environmental assessment and permitting process for mines in Peru.
The $US2.3-billion project — one of the biggest mining developments in the world — covers a range of ecosystems. These range from the wet, high-altitude conditions of the mine site, at 4,300 metres, to the arid, coastal environment near Puerto Huarmey, where the concentrates will be loaded on to ships. Although the project is remote, the area is dotted with small, impoverished villages.
This unique combination of physical and socio-economic conditions has required detailed environmental assessment and community consultation throughout the planning and construction phases in order to meet a 2002 deadline for commercial production of copper and zinc.
“With such a large area of influence, there’s a big diversity in life zones,” says Steve Botts, vice-president of environment, health and safety for Compania Minera Antamina (CMA), the company created to develop Antamina for partners
The mine’s proximity to Huascaran National Park also forced CMA to reconsider how to transport copper and zinc concentrates from the mine to the coastal port.
Antamina, which lies about 270 km north of Peru, was privatized in 1996 when
Coincident mineral exploration generated positive results, encouraging the partners to launch a feasibility study in the fall of 1997. In March 1998, all the baseline data collected to date were pulled together in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and submitted to the Peruvian government.
Speedy approval
Within a few months, the government had granted approval for an open-pit mine that would produce 270,000 tonnes copper and 160,000 tonnes zinc every year for 20 years. Proven and probable reserves are estimated at 494 million tonnes with grades of 1.8% copper and 1% zinc.
“We went into this project with overwhelming support from the locals and from government,” says Botts, alluding to the relatively speedy approval. “Here, if you do a good environmental baseline study and explain how you will mitigate impacts, things are going to move more quickly than they would in the U.S. or Canada.”
But what was acceptable to the local community was not necessarily acceptable to the international community, nor the lending institutions that were considering providing more than US$1 billion for the project.
The main point of controversy was CMA’s decision to truck concentrates through the Huascaran National Park, 20 km east of the mine site. In addition to being a biosphere reserve, the park is a world heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). To appease concerns about ecological disturbance in the park, CMA submitted a second EIA to the government, including one major change: the road would no longer run through the park, but would bypass it to the south.
Shortly after CMA completed the second EIA, ownership of the project changed hands again. In mid-1998, cash-strapped Inmet sold its stake in the project to Noranda and Teck. Rio Algom retains a 33.75% stake in Antamina, Noranda and Teck hold 33.75% and 22.5%, respectively. Mitsubishi, the latest partner, holds the remaining 10%.
Change of plan
The new owners questioned — from both an environmental and economic standpoint — the decision to truck 70,000 tonnes of concentrate on a daily basis. They preferred the option of building a 300-km slurry pipeline running parallel to the access road that wrapped around the park. Although the capital costs would be higher, the operating costs and environmental impact would be much less.
“There would have been more than 100 trucks hauling concentrate at a rate of one truck every 10 minutes,” says Botts. “We were worried about traffic safety and we were worried about the environmental effects of dust and noise.”
As result, CMA submitted yet another EIA with the proposal to use a pipeline instead of a road to transport concentrates to the coast. The company also sponsored a special working group to monitor impacts on the park, not only from Antamina but from mining in general.
But before the banks would provide the US$1.3 billion necessary to help finance the project, CMA had to ensure it had all the permits required for development.
“To close the loan, we had to be in compliance and have all the permits that we needed to start construction,” says Botts. “Unless we’d gone out and done the homework ourselves, we would have never known what we had to comply with. The regulators weren’t beating down our doors, and if we hadn’t gone to them they might not have come to us.”
Botts and his team eventually discovered that the mine would need at least 250 permits, covering everything from constructing a sanitary landfill for garbage disposal to building a potable water plant. To date, the Peruvian government has granted Antamina 165 permits. Another 30 are under review.
Local plan
On the local level, CMA has set aside US$6.3 million for a community development plan that provides financial assistance and technical support for community-driven business ideas and social programs. The programs include workforce training, improving agricultural practices to enhance productivity, developing enterprises, and improving health and nutrition. Many are co-operative programs with local and international non-governmental organizations.
The company has also sponsored the creation of an environmental committee in San Marcos, the closest village to the mine. The committee meets regularly to review project progress, evaluate environmental monitoring data and discuss any concerns the community might have about environmental impacts.
As the ore is depleted, CMA plans to spend US$80 million to close and rehabilitate Antamina. Areas of the mine that become inactive will be reclaimed immediately. The closure plan includes restoring the site to allow grazing, the traditional land use. The open pit will be allowed to fill with water in order to form a large lake.
CMA has been praised for its environmental efforts. In 1999, the company received an award for community development from Peru 2021, an organization committed to promoting social and environmental responsibility. And an agency of UNESCO that oversees world heritage sites has described Antamina as a model for managing projects near protected areas.
The partners at Antamina have demonstrated a commitment to the environment without losing sight of project economics. Average cash operating costs are forecast to be among the lowest in the world, at an average of US30 per lb. over the mine’s first years, and in the range of US35 over the life of the mine.
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