Contents of Engineering & Mining Journal - FEB 2012

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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NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS
tions, net to PT Freeport Indonesia, totaled 235 million lb of copper and 275,000 oz of gold for 2011.
Consolidated sales from mines for 2012 are expected to approximate 3.8 bil- lion lb of copper, 1.2 million oz of gold and 80 million lb of molybdenum. FCX's pro- jected 2012 copper sales volumes are expected to be higher, compared with 2011, primarily because of higher produc- tion from North America and Indonesia, partly offset by slightly lower production in South America. Gold sales in 2012 are projected to be lower than 2011 sales because of mine sequencing in Indonesia. Molybdenum sales in 2012 are expected to be similar to 2011, with higher produc- tion from primary molybdenum mines off- set by lower production from FCX's North and South America copper mines. In 2010, the company initiated plans to increase production at its North America copper mines, including restarting milling operations and increasing mining rates at Morenci and Chino, and restarting the Miami mine. The Morenci project is com- plete, with an incremental impact of 125 million lb of copper per year, and ramp-up activities at Miami and Chino are continu- ing. Production at Miami totaled 66 mil- lion lb of copper in 2011 and is expected to be similar in 2012. Production at Chino, which produced 69 million lb of copper in 2011, is expected to increase to approximately 200 million lb of copper per year by 2014.
FCX expects 2012 sales from North American copper mines to total 1.3 billion lb of copper, compared with 1.2 billion lb of copper in 2011.
In South America, FCX began produc- tion from El Abra's newly commissioned stacking and leaching facilities to transi- tion from production of oxide to sulphide ores. Production from sulphide ore approx- imates 300 million lb/y of copper, replac- ing the depleting oxide copper production. The aggregate capital investment for this project is expected to total $725 million through 2015. FCX is also engaged in pre- feasibility studies for a potential large- scale milling operation at El Abra to process additional sulphide material and to achieve higher recoveries. At Cerro Verde, plans for a $4-billion concentrator expansion continue to be advanced, including expansion of concen- trator capacity from 120,000 to 360,000 mt/d of ore, leading to incremental annual production of approximately 600 million lb
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Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Production Figures 2011
(Millions of lb, '000 oz) 2012
North America Copper Moly
South America Copper Moly Gold
Indonesia
Copper Gold
Africa
Copper 290 Cobalt
Moly (total) Gold (total)
Copper (total)
1,200 3,800
25 80
281 25 83
1,383 3,691
of copper and 15 million lb of molybde- num beginning in 2016.
FCX expects South America's 2012 sales to total 1.3 billion lb of copper and 100,000 oz of gold, similar to 2011 sales of 1.3 billion lb of copper and 101,000 oz of gold. Lower projected ore grades at Cerro Verde and Candelaria in 2012 are expect- ed to be partly offset by higher production at El Abra.
FCX expects 2012 sales from its Indonesian operations to total 930 million lb of copper and 1.1 million oz of gold for the year 2012, compared to 2011 sales of 846 million lb of copper and 1.3 million oz of gold. Gold sales in 2012 are projected to be lower than in 2011 because of min- ing in a lower grade section of the Grasberg mine in 2012.
FCX operates the Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mining concessions in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mining rates at Tenke have been increased to boost origi- nal mine capacity of 250 million lb per year to approximately 290 million lb per year. A second phase of the project will include expanding the mill rate to 14,000 mt/d of ore and construction of related pro- cessing facilities to add another 150 mil- lion lb of copper per year. FCX expects Africa's sales to approxi- mate 290 million lb of copper and 25 mil- lion lb of cobalt for the year 2012, com- pared with 283 million lb of copper and 25 million lb of cobalt for the year 2011. FCX's capital expenditures are currently estimated to approximate $4 billion for the year 2012.
283 25 79
1,378 1,378
265 20 72
1,886 1,886
262 20 67
1,863 1,863
Goldcorp Advancing El Morro and Cerro Negro Projects Goldcorp recently provided project up- dates for its El Morro gold-copper project in northern Chile and its Cerro Negro gold project in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. The company also announced it has bud- geted $2.6 billion for capital expenditures in 2012, of which approximately 60% is allocated to projects and 40% to opera- tions. In addition to spending of $185 million at El Morro and $500 million at Cerro Negro during 2012, major project capital expenditures will include approxi- mately $400 million at Éléonore in Canada and $350 million at Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic. El Morro: Goldcorp will begin construc- tion at El Morro in September. Goldcorp is 70% owner and operator of the project; New Gold Inc. holds the remaining 30%. Capital cost to develop the project is esti- mated at $3.9 billion.
Initial production at El Morro is expect- ed in 2017, followed by full production in 2018. Production is planned to average more than 300,000 oz/y of gold and 285 million lb/y of copper over a 17-year mine life. Life-of-mine cash costs are expected to be about negative $700/oz of gold on a byproduct basis and $550/oz of gold on a co-product basis.
The El Morro project is located in Huasco province about 800 km north of Santiago. The project is based on mining and milling of sulphide copper and gold ore from the La Fortuna mineral deposit. Current open-pit proven and probable min- eral reserves total 537 million mt grading
FEBRUARY 2012 • E&MJ; 5 930 1,100 846 1,272 846 1,270
1,222 1,786
1,214 1,765
Sales (est) 1,300
1,300 100 Prod
1,258 35
1,306 10
101
2011 Sales
1,247 1,322 101
2010 Prod
1,067 25
1,354 7
93
2010 Sales
1,085 1,335 93