Engineering & Mining Journal

JUL 2014

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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42 E&MJ; • JULY 2014 www.e-mj.com PA M PA C A M A R O N E S Copper Mining Arrives in Arica Chile's Minera Pampa Camarones and South Korea's Samsung have built a new copper production complex in a non-traditional mining area, using environmentally friendly water and power technology By Oscar Martinez, Latin American Editor With the recent start of commercial pro- duction at the Salamanqueja open-pit mine and cathode plant located 90 km south of Arica, Chile, Minera Pampa Camarones has introduced copper min- ing and processing into that country's northernmost zone. Felipe Velasco, general manager, Pampa Camarones, has managed the project from concept to reality. The pro- ject began to take shape when the gov- ernment's Mining Development Agency (ENAMI) opened the bid for the Salamanqueja deposit. In 2009, after Minera Pampa Camarones was awarded the rights to develop the mining deposit, Velasco sought and found investors and together they structured a partnership with Samsung. Over the course of its estimated 15-year mine life, it's expected to produce 700 tons of cathodes per month, or 8,400 metric tons per year (mt/y) of copper. At the time of E&MJ; 's visit in April, construction of the project was approaching completion and Minera Pampa Camarones was preparing for commissioning and startup. At the same time, the company was also plan- ning a third drilling campaign in search of new resources to sustain a longer- term operation. For the medium term, the plan is to grow the capacity of the cathode plant to yield 1,000 tons of cathodes per month. The entire project, development of the Salamanqueja mine and construc- tion of the Pampa Camarones cathode plant, represents an investment of approximately $70 million. The orebody is property of ENAMI and it was grant- ed to Minera Pampa Camarones S.A. as a lease. The ore will be processed by conventional heap leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW). Mining will start in a 2,990-hectare pit area and continue on the surface for about two years before transitioning to underground operations. The company is studying the feasibility of a second underground mine to work other veins on the property. Drilling, blasting, loading, and haul- age is handled by a contractor using three drill rigs, three 2.8- to 3-m 3 exca- vators, eight 30-mt articulated haul trucks, and two 40-mt dump trucks. The surface mining equipment selec- tion was based on factors such as pit shape and required production levels. The mine also has access to some ancillary equipment, such as a medi- The Minera Pampa Camarones cathode plant in northern Chile is expected to produce 700 tons per month. EMJ_pg42-49_EMJ_pg42-49 7/2/14 4:59 PM Page 42

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