Vancouver Some eight years after opening a district office in Safford, Arizona, the World’s second largest copper producer expects a decision from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on the proposed copper mining operation in the next few months.
Phelps Dodge (PD-N) launched feasibility studies and environmental permitting back in 1996 for the Lone Star, Dos Pobres, and San Juan deposits some 12 km north of Safford. The U.S. BLM has already issued an environmental impact statement on the proposal, which was a necessary step for Phelps Dodge to get permits to develop the Dos Pobres and San Juan ore bodies.
The draft environmental impact statement was released in mid-1998. The Dos Pobres and San Juan deposits hosts 555 million tons of leachable material and 330 million tons of sulphide material with a grade of 0.65% copper.
The company envisions production of up to 200 million pounds of copper annually using the solvent extraction/electro-winning (SX-EW) process over a 16-year mine life.
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