Environment Ministry Approves Compania Minera del Pacifico S.A (CMP) US$169 Million Los Colorados Expansion
Sydney, Oct 28, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Chile's environment ministry (MMA) has approved a US$169mn expansion project to increase pre-concentrated iron ore output from local firm Compania Minera del Pacifico's (CMP) Los Colorados mine in region III, the company said in a filing sent to securities regulator SVS.
The initiative is part of a larger US$342mn project aimed at increasing pellet feed output at the Huasco plant by 2Mt/y to a total 2.85Mt/y, which was granted environmental approval in mid-September.
Pre-concentrated iron ore output from Los Colorados will feed the Huasco plant, which will see its overall pellet production grow from 5.2Mt/y to 7.2Mt/y. Operations are expected to start in 1Q13 with a 16-year lifespan.
The board of local iron ore and steel group CAP SA (SCL:CAP), which has a 75% stake in CMP, approved the project at end-August. The expansion is part of a long-term growth strategy to boost iron ore output capacity to 17Mt/y from the current 11Mt/y, costing close to US$980mn.
The plan also involves the US$575mn Cerro Negro Norte iron ore project, which received environmental approval last December. The initiative is scheduled to start operating by 1Q13, reaching full production capacity of 4Mt/y of iron ore in concentrates the following year with a lifespan of 19 years.
The remainder of CMP belongs to Japanese corporation Mitsubishi (
TYO:8058).
Contact
CAP S.A.
Santiago, Chile
Tel: +56-2-818-6000
Fax: +56-2-818-6116
http://www.cap.cl
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