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  • OVERVIEW
  • NORTH AMERICA
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    • CERRO VERDE
    • EL ABRA
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COPPER (CU)
MOLYBDENUM (MO)
  • #cerro_verde_link

     

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    SOUTH AMERICA

    CERRO VERDE MINE LOCATED IN PERU

    Description

    Cerro Verde is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex.

    Location

    Approximately 20 miles southwest of Arequipa, Peru.

    Did you know?

    Construction activities associated with a large-scale expansion at Cerro Verde were completed in September 2015. The project expanded the concentrator facilities from 120,000 metric tons-per-day (mtd) to 360,000 mtd and provides incremental annual production of approximately 600 million pounds of copper and 15 million pounds of molybdenum. Cerro Verde’s operations benefit from its large-scale, long-lived reserves and cost efficiencies. During 2018, Cerro Verde received a modified environmental permit allowing it to operate its existing concentrator facilities at rates up to 409,500 metric tons of ore per day.

    Ores

    The Cerro Verde mine is a porphyry copper deposit that has oxide and secondary sulfide mineralization, and primary sulfide mineralization. The predominant oxide copper minerals are brochanite, chrysocolla, malachite and copper “pitch.” Chalcocite and covellite are the most important secondary copper sulfide minerals. Chalcopyrite and molybdenite are the dominant primary sulfides.

    Processes and facilities

    Cerro Verde’s operation includes 2 concentrating facilities with an annual average permitted milling capacity of 409,500 metric tons of ore per day. Cerro Verde also operates SX/EW leaching facilities, which have a production capacity of approximately 200 million pounds of copper per year. In 2023, Cerro Verde began to dismantle its crushed leach facility (which had a capacity of 39,000 metric tons of ore per day) as a result of pit expansion but continues to utilize its 100,000-metric-ton-per-day ROM leach system.

    Background

    Spaniards mined high-grade copper oxide ore from Cerro Verde and shipped it to Wales in the mid-1800s. Anaconda owned the property from 1916 until 1970, when the mine was acquired by the Peruvian government. The government mined Cerro Verde’s oxide ores and built one of the world’s first SX/EW facilities in 1972. Cyprus Amax purchased the operation in 1994 and invested substantial capital in the property to upgrade and improve productivity. In the eight years after privatization, copper production increased by about 350% and costs were reduced by more than 40%.

    Ownership

    55.08% FCX; 21% SMM Cerro Verde Netherlands B.V. (a subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Company Ltd.); 19.58% Compañia de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.; and 4.34% by other shareholders whose shares are publicly traded on the Lima Stock Exchange.

    For more information on Cerro Verde, click here: https://www.cerroverde.pe/.

    VIDEO

    Cerro Verde Expansion

    Cerro Verde Expansion: Pride Unites Us

    Cerro Verde’s Bat Conservation Program

    Cerro Verde Operations - Peru

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    Technical Report Summary of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources – Cerro Verde Mine

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    EL ABRA
    /operations/south-america#el_abra_link
  • #el_abra_link

     

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    SOUTH AMERICA

    EL ABRA MINE LOCATED IN CHILE

    Description

    El Abra is an open-pit copper mining complex.

    Did you know?

    We continue to evaluate a large-scale expansion at El Abra to process additional sulfide material and to achieve higher recoveries. El Abra’s large sulfide resource could potentially support a major mill project similar to facilities constructed at Cerro Verde. Technical and economic studies are being advanced to determine the optimal scope and timing for the project.

    Location

    47 miles north of Calama, in Chile’s El Loa province, Region II.

    Ores

    El Abra is a porphyry copper deposit that has sulfide and oxide mineralization. The predominant primary sulfide copper minerals are bornite and chalcopyrite. There is a minor amount of secondary sulfide mineralization as chalcocite. The oxide copper minerals are chrysocolla and pseudomalachite. There are lesser amounts of copper-bearing clays and tenorite.

    Background

    Mining operations began in 1996. 

    Ownership

    51% FCX; 49% Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO)

    For more information on El Abra, click here: https://www.elabra.cl.

    VIDEO

    El Abra Operations - Chile

    Processes and facilities

    The El Abra operation includes a solution extraction/electrowinning facility with a capacity of 500 million pounds of copper cathode per year, a 125,000 metric ton-per-day crushed leach circuit and a similar-sized run-of-mine leaching operation.

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    /operations/south-america#cerro_verde_link

SOUTH AMERICA

FCX’s South America mining operations include open-pit mining, sulfide ore concentrating, leaching and solution extraction/electrowinning. Production from these mines is sold as concentrate or cathode under long-term contracts. Our South America mines also ship a portion of their copper concentrate to Atlantic Copper, our wholly owned smelting and refining unit in Spain.

FCX operates two copper mines in South America ― Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. In addition to copper, the Cerro Verde mine also produces molybdenum concentrate and silver.

Cerro Verde’s expanded operations benefit from its large-scale, long-lived reserves and cost efficiencies and have continued to perform well. As a result of several efficiency initiatives implemented over the past several years, in 2023, Cerro Verde’s 2 concentrators were able to achieve a combined average milling rate of 417,400 metric tons of ore per day in 2023.

Cerro Verde Operations - Peru02:06

Cerro Verde Operations - Peru

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Cerro Verde Operations - Peru
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Cerro Verde’s Bat Conservation Program
El Abra Operations02:06

El Abra Operations - Chile

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El Abra Operations
Cerro Verde Expansion19:47

Cerro Verde Expansion

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Cerro Verde Expansion
Cerro Verde Expansion- Pride Unites Us04:59

Cerro Verde Expansion-
Pride Unites Us

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Cerro Verde Expansion- Pride Unites Us
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