Recently, according to a report released by the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Ecuador, the expansion permit for Ecuador's largest solid mining project and China's largest mining investment project in Ecuador - the Mirador Copper Mine in Ecuador has been approved.

It is reported that Tongling Nonferrous Metals will invest 650 million dollars in the local operator Coriante to increase the daily output of Mirador Copper Mine from 60000 tons to 140000 tons, more than doubling the capacity. In 2022, the Mirador Copper Mine will reach full capacity, producing 121000 tons of copper throughout the year. After the expansion of the second phase project, the Mirador Copper Mine's production capacity will reach over 200000 tons.

Mirador1 mining area is located in the southeast of Ecuador, covering an area of 2985 hectares, with a reserve of 1257 million tons and a copper grade of 0.48%, equivalent to about 6030500 tons of copper Metallicity. The mine also has rich associated resources, including 0.12g/t associated gold and 772.36 million tons associated silver, with an average grade of 1.314 g/t. Mirador 1 mining area is divided into Mirador copper deposit and Mirador North copper deposit. Both deposits are Surface mine, closely connected, and have similar geological conditions.

Phase I of Mirador copper deposit will reach its production capacity in 2021, with a copper ore processing capacity of 20 million tons per year, and an annual output of about 90000 tons of copper Metallicity corresponding copper concentrate. Phase II design will be expanded to 26.4 million tons per year; The design mining and beneficiation capacity of the Mirador North Copper Deposit Phase II is 19.8 million tons/year. The overall Phase II project of Mirador Copper Mine is expected to be completed and put into operation in June 2025. After expansion, the total mining and beneficiation scale will reach 46.2 million tons/year, with an estimated annual copper production of over 200000 tons.

In addition to the Mirado copper mine, the Las Bambas copper mine, which belongs to the South American region, has also overcome the shadow of strikes and achieved full production. If production continues to be stable, the annual copper production of Las Bambas is expected to reach 300000 tons. Currently, the Chalcobamba project of the mine is being promoted, and after the completion of Chalcobamba, the mid-term production of the Las Bambas mine is expected to reach 380000 to 400000 tons.

At present, the third phase expansion is progressing as planned. After the third phase is put into operation, the total ore processing capacity of the Kamoa copper mine will exceed 14 million tons/year, and the production will increase to about 620000 tons/year, making the Kamoa copper mine the fourth largest copper mine in the world and the largest copper mine on the African continent.Editor/Ma Xue