Vancouver's Teck Resources and Japanese partner Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corp. have closed their $1.2-billion transaction giving Sumitomo a 30% indirect interest in the Quebrada Blanca copper project.
The Quebrada Blanca property is 240 km southeast of Iquique at an elevation of 4,400 metres.
Teck received the final permit to go forward with a $4.7-billion expansion at the mine and mill in August 2018, but it wanted a partner willing to share the costs. The Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 project (QB2) will extend the life of the operation by 28 years - to 2047, maybe even to 2054. The mill capacity will be boosted to 135,000 tonnes of ore per day. First copper production is planned for the second half of 2021.
A unique feature of QB2 is the first large scale use of desalinated water by a mining project to meet all demands of the project in the Tarapac Region.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)