With ore reserves estimated at 157 million tons and a copper grade of 0.75%, Codelco El Teniente officially began production of Northern Resources, a new operating sector of El Teniente. Once in full production, it will contribute about 20% of the ore produced and processed by Codelco operations daily.
Recursos Norte (Northern Resources), which is part of the El Teniente Development Plan, started operations 15 months in advance of its original plan. This saved the company about US$50 million during the construction phase and will allow Codelco to increase the estimated earnings for the initiative by more than US$300 million.
The completion and startup of this significant project moved forward thanks to historic increases in the mining rates at the sector located nearby, optimization of the bidding processes, and the increases in the speed of construction.
Mining authorities and executives from Codelco recently visited the job site that will maintain the current levels of production and increase the surpluses that this division of Codelco delivers to the country. It will also extend the mine life by 50 years.
