[miningmx.com] — BHP Billiton said it would invest $434.7m in northern Peru representing its share of capital required to expand the Antamina copper and zinc mine.
Antamina is a joint venture between BHP Billiton (33.75%), Xstrata (33.75%), Teck Resources (22.5%) and Mitsubishi Corporation (10%).
All four partners have approved their respective shares of the project’s $1,29bn capital budget.
The expansion project will increase the site’s ore processing capacity by 38% to
130,000 tonnes per day.
Higher mineral ore reserves previously reported in combination with the expanded
processing capacity will result in a mine life extension of six years from 2023 until
2029.
First production from the expansion is anticipated in late 2011.
