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Notes to editors:
Quellaveco is an open pit copper mine located in the Moquegua region in the south of Peru. Construction started in 2018, with estimated total capex of $5.5 billion, which includes the $0.6 billion additional cost of managing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic since 2020. In 2021, Anglo American also approved the construction of a Coarse Particle Recovery plant to allow retreatment of coarse particles from flotation tailings to further enhance copper recovery rates.
Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes of copper equivalent per year on average over the first 10 years of operation, at a highly competitive C1 unit cost of c. 95c/lb over the first five years once the operation reaches full production capacity.
The support of local communities is paramount in both the success of developing the project and its operational phase. Such support is underpinned by an innovative 18-month “Dialogue Table” consultation with local authorities and community representatives from the Moquegua region that took place in 2011. A total of 26 commitments were made, spanning water to environmental protection and social development. One of the major such commitments delivered is the construction of the Vizcachas Dam which brings net positive water benefits to local communities by delivering supply of high-quality water for agriculture, among other uses, while the Quellaveco operation will predominantly utilise water that is unfit for such uses.
Quellaveco has an estimated 1.7 billion tonnes of Ore Reserves, 8.9 million tonnes of contained copper at 0.53% TCu, and a 36-year Reserve Life, with potential for further expansion given its estimated additional Mineral Resources at 1.6 billion tonnes, containing 6.1 million tonnes copper (at 0.38% TCu).1
Anglo American expects that Quellaveco will reach design production capacity in 12 months. Production guidance for 2022 is 100,000 – 150,000 tonnes of copper at a C1 unit cost of c.135c/lb. Production guidance for 2023 and 2024 is 320,000 – 370,000 tonnes. Quellaveco is owned 60:40 between Anglo American and Mitsubishi Corporation.
Anglo American is a leading global mining company and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.
As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and steelmaking coal, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development – we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.
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1 Estimates as at 31 December 2021. Please refer to the Anglo American Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources Report 2021 for further information. TCu = total copper
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