The world’s top nine copper mine projects to be developed

According to the Mining.com website, the latest industry report by Fitch Solutions predicts that global mine copper production will increase by 7.8% in 2021, mainly due to the commissioning of multiple projects and the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020. Low base.

The growth will remain strong in the next few years, as some new and expanded projects have been put into production, driven by rising copper prices and demand growth.

Fitch predicts that from 2021 to 2030, global mine copper production is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 3.8%, and the annual output will increase from 20.2 million tons in 2020 to 29.4 million tons in 2030.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer. Project development mainly comes from large mining companies such as BHP Billiton and Tektronix Resources. Chile’s good infrastructure, abundant reserves and long-term stable environment have attracted investment from these mining companies.

In recent years, Chile has attracted a large amount of mining investment, and its effect will gradually appear in the next few years, because some new projects will be put into production. The growth in 2021 is mainly due to the Spence expansion project of BHP Billiton. The mine will be put into production in December 2020. Once it reaches production, the annual output will reach 185,000 tons, and the production will be completed within 12 months.

In the long run, the decline in the average ore grade will be a key risk to the production forecast, because more ore needs to be mined and processed to obtain the same amount of copper every year.

Copper is in high demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles, but new discoveries are rare and it is more difficult to recycle.

Although Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, Fitch expects Australia and Canada to be the countries with the most new projects. According to the amount of investment, analysts ranked the top ten copper mine projects in the world, but Chile is not among them.

Ranked first is Seabridge Gold’s KSM project in British Columbia, Canada, with an investment of US$12.1 billion. In November 2020, Haiqiao Company re-compiled its technical report and showed that the project has confirmed ore reserves of 460 million tons, and the mine has a life of 44 years. The project includes the Kerr, Sulphurets, Mithell and Iron Cap deposits.

Turquoise Hill Resources, a company controlled by Rio Tinto, has to invest US$11.9 billion in Oyu Tolgoi, Mongolia, ranking second. The project has experienced multiple delays and rising costs, but Turquoise Mountain Company hopes to start production in October 2022. The underground mining project with an investment of US$5.3 billion is still completed in 2022 as planned. Rio Tinto holds a 50.8% stake in Turquoise Resources. The project confirmed that the ore reserves are 355 million tons and the mine life is 31 years.

The Cascabel copper mine project jointly owned by SolGold and Cornerstone Resources in Ecuador requires an investment of US$1 billion, ranking third. The project’s proven resources are 1.192 billion tons, and the mine is 66 years old. The main deposit of the project is Alpala, with an estimated annual output of 150,000 tons of copper, a proven reserve of 604 million tons, and a mine life of 33 years.

In fourth place is the Freida River project in Papua New Guinea with an investment of US$7.8 billion. The project has confirmed 569 million tons of ore reserves and a mine life of 20 years.

Minmetals Resources Corporation has invested US$6.5 billion in the Izok Corridor project in Bathurst Bay, Nunavut, Canada, ranking fifth. The estimated ore resources of the project are 21.4 million tons, including two deposits of Lake Izok and High Lake.

Teck’s investment in the Galore Creek project in British Columbia, Canada is US$6.1 billion, ranking sixth. In October 2018, Novagold Resources transferred its 50% stake in the project to Newmont. The proven resources of the project are 128.4 million tons. The mine Shouming was 18.5 years old and the estimated annual output was 146,100 tons.

Alcantara Group (Alcantara Group) invested 5.9 billion US dollars in the Tampakan project in the Philippines, ranking seventh. However, in August 2020, the Philippine government cancelled the agreement with the company to develop this copper mine project. Tampakan is expected to produce 375,000 tons per year. The ore resources are 2.94 billion tons, and the mine life is 17 years.

Kaz Minerals invested USD 5.5 billion in the Baimskya project in Russia. The company will complete the financing feasibility study in the second half of 2021. The mine has an expected life of 25 years and a proven resource of 139 million tons. It will be put into operation in 2027, with an annual output of 250,000 tons of copper.

Antofagasta’s Twin Metals project in Minnesota, USA has a proven resource of 291.4 million tons and a mine life of 25 years, including Maturi and Birch Lake , Southwest Mathuri and Spruce Road (Spruce Road) deposits. Antofagasta has submitted a plan to the state and federal governments.