The current sulphide concentrator has a capacity of 4.2 million tonnes of sulphide ore per year, with three stage crushing followed by ball milling and flotation plant. The oxide run-of-mine ore is leached on dumps, and the solution sent to an
SX-EW plant with a production capacity of 60 thousand tonnes per year of high purity copper cathodes.
Annual production
Mantos Blancos produces in the range of approximately 40 to 50 thousand tonnes of copper in concentrates and cathodes per year.
Mantos Blancos Expansion
The Expansion Project was completed in 2021 and is currently ramping up to increase throughput capacity from 11 thousand tonnes per day to 20 thousand tonnes per day and will shift the focus of the mine towards the higher-grade, lower-cost sulfide
deposit.
Following completion of the MB Debottlenecking Project, we expect to increase Mantos Blancos’ production to approximately 55,000 tonnes of copper in 2024 at an AISC of $1.97 per payable pound. As of March, 2022, the capital cost of the project is
estimated to be US$249 million and represents a capital intensity of approximately US$11,900 per tonne, which is substantially lower than the Latin American industry average of approximately US$20,000 per tonne as calculated by Wood Mackenzie [need
to indicate the date of the report].
In 2019, Mantos Copper secured a US$250 million financing package to fund the construction of the MBCDP, which comprises a US$150 million facility from Glencore (associated with an offtake agreement with Glencore and Complejo Metalurgico Altonorte
S.A.), a US$50 million copper royalty agreement with Southern Cross (a subsidiary of Anglo Pacific), a US$25 million upsized silver production agreement with Osisko, and a US$25 million equity injection by Orion Mining Finance. Construction on the
MBCDP commenced in 2019 and was completed in late 2021.
Other Growth Projects
At Mantos Blancos,after completion of the MBCDP, we intend to focus on delivering the next phase of growth with the MB Phase II Expansion, which is an opportunity to use existing ball mills and processing equipment to increase sulfide throughput,
as well as incremental oxide ore leaching from mine and waste dumps, to provide incremental production of approximately 20 thousand tonnes of copper per year by 2023.
The MB Phase II Expansion which would increase production at Mantos Blancos to over 80 thousand tonnes of copper per year by 2025. The estimated capital cost of the MB Phase II Expansion is US$80 million, which represents a capital intensity of
approximately US$6,500 per tonne.