Anglo American sees potential output of 1.3Mt/y copper by 2017

London-based Anglo American (LSE: AAL) has the potential to keep growing copper output and could even double last year's production by 2017 to around 1.3Mt/y, the company's copper unit CEO John MacKenzie told BNamericas.

Anglo American turned out 623,295t in 2010, a 7% decrease compared to 2009, mainly due to labor conflicts at its 44%-controlled Do?a Inés de Collahuasi mine in northern Chile's region I.

"We will have a small increase in copper output this year, as the expansion at Los Bronces operation will start up in Q4. Once at full capacity, expected for early 2012, the operation in central Chile should boost our total output to 900,000t/y," Mackenzie said.

The US$2.5bn expansion at Los Bronces, the company' largest copper operation, will increase output by 278,000t/y to an average 490,000t/y of fine copper in the first three years of full production.

Over the first 10 years of operation, the mine is expected to turn out an average 400,000t/y at average cash costs of around US$0.80/lb.

FURTHER GROWTH

An expansion project at Collahuasi, set for completion in 2013, will increase throughput to 160,000t/d for output of 600,000t/y of fine copper.

Collahuasi is also starting a prefeasibility study to further expand output to a total of 1Mt/y by 2017, while the US$3bn Quellaveco project in Peru will be contributing 225,000t/y from 2014, MacKenzie said.

Additional expansion options exist at the Michiquillay initiative in Peru and the Pebble project in Alaska, he added.

LONG TERM OUTLOOK

Last year, Anglo American started a conceptual study to look at the integration of two new deposits announced in 2009 - Los Sulfatos and San Enrique Monolito - into the overall Los Bronces district.

The study is due for completion by the end of this year. "I have no doubt that the [expansion] project we are doing now will not be the last at Los Bronces. This is a very exciting district with huge potential," MacKenzie told BNamericas previously.

In July 2009 Anglo announced the results of exploration drilling at Los Sulfatos which showed an inferred resource of 1.2Bt grading 1.46% copper and 0.02% molybdenum, containing 17.5Mt copper.

Further drilling could potentially increase resources to 4B-5Bt grading 0.8-1% copper.

In addition to Los Bronces and the stake in Collahuasi, Anglo American also owns the El Soldado, Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde operations, as well as the Chagres smelter in Chile.

Anglo American also produces platinum, coal, diamonds, iron ore and nickel, among others.