A large-scale expansion at Freeport-McMoRan's El Abra copper mine in Chile is still being evaluated, although potential changes to the country's fiscal regime could lead to its deferment, the US copper producer said.
The expansion would see the plant in northern Chile process additional sulfide material and achieve higher levels of copper recovery. According to Freeport, El Abra's large sulfide resource could support a major mill project similar to facilities constructed in 2015 at Cerro Verde in Peru."Technical and economic studies...