26th Sep 2022 09:13
(Alliance News) - Anglo American PLC announced on Monday it had started commercial copper operations at its Quellaveco project in Peru, following final regulatory clearance.
Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes per year of copper equivalent volume on average over its first ten years.
It is expected to lift the group's total global output by 10% in copper equivalent terms and take total copper output close to 1 million tonnes per year.
"Our delivery of Quellaveco, a major new world-class copper mine, is testament to the incredible efforts of our workforce and our commitment to our stakeholders in Peru over many years," said Anglo American Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad.
Anglo American expects Quellaveco to ramp-up production fully over the next 9 to 12 months.
Following a commissioning and testing period, and receipt of final regulatory clearance, production guidance for Quellaveco in 2022 is revised down to 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of copper from 100,000 to 150,000 forecast previously.
Production guidance for Quellaveco in 2023 and 2024 is unchanged at 320,000 to 370,000 tonnes of copper.
The company tightened its production guidance for Chile to 560,000 to 580,000 tonnes of copper from 560,000 to 600,000 tonnes due to lower throughput at Los Bronces caused by a combination of water restrictions and a change in ore characteristics.
Anglo American shares were down 1.6% to 2,627.00 pence in London early on Monday. They were down 3.0% at ZAR506.21 in Johannesburg.
By Artwell Dlamini; [email protected]
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