Anglo American touts Peru copper mine innovation
Anglo American is touting the innovation of its $5.5bn copper mine in Peru, where a left-wing political novice historically critical of extractive industries is close to becoming the country's next president.
London-headquartered Anglo American is about a year out from starting production on the 300,000 t/yr Quellaveco mine, the firm's largest greenfield project worldwide and its showcase for "smart mining".
"What we are doing here is showing how mining will be done in the future. Quellaveco is going to be a turning point," Anglo American Peru chief executive Tom McCulley told Argus.
Quellaveco, in the southern Moquegua region, ticks many of the boxes that rural schoolteacher Pedro Castillo, who is close to being declared winner of a 6 June presidential run-off, talked about on the campaign trail, including technology, environmental focus and relations with local communities.
Castillo stressed that mining would not be permitted in places where communities oppose it, specifically calling out Tia Maria, planned by Mexico's Southern Copper, and Minas Conga, belonging to-US based Newmont. Tia Maria development has been suspended since 2009, Conga since 2011.
Quellaveco will be the first mine in Peru, and the largest of Anglo American's mines worldwide, that will be fully powered by renewable energy, and the country's first completely digital mine.
In an agreement with France's Engie, Quellaveco will be powered with 187MW from a 260MW wind farm under construction in Ica to the north. Quellaveco will export copper from a terminal that Engie built years ago to bring in coal for a thermal power plant it operated in Ilo. That plant is now closed.
Quellaveco currently has five 327t autonomous or driver-less mining trucks and will eventually get to 30 trucks, Anglo American's first fully autonomous fleet.
"All of the information is integrated, from water reservoirs nearly 5,000m above sea level to the port in Ilo we will use to ship copper. We can see all the data, interpret it and make decisions in real time," said general manager Tito Cacho.
Quellaveco will become a technological hub for Peruvian mining and a trailblazer for the wider Andean region, Anglo American says.
Peru is the world's second largest copper-producing country after southern neighbor Chile.
The most ambitious part of Quellaveco so far may be water sustainability. While there have been some grumblings about its environmental footprint, Quellaveco has been free from social protests and is not among projects monitored by local mining-watch non-profit groups concerning water rights and other environmental concerns. Quellaveco is also not among the 60 active mining conflicts the government's ombudsman's office was following in May.
The mine will obtain 80pc of its water, or 18mn m3, from the volcanic-fed Titire river high in the Andes. The river has natural toxic concentrations of boron and arsenic, off limits for human consumption and agriculture, but suitable for mining. The remaining 20pc will come from rainwater – it has 1.4mn m3 of stored rainwater – and the Asana river, which has been channeled and diverted around the mine. A key component is the 60m m3 Vizcachas dam. Quellaveco will use 4mn m3, with the rest provided to local farming communities.
The community plan, including the water-use strategy, was initially approved in 2012 after more than 18 months of negotiations.
"If I look at all of the mines I have seen in the world, this is the first that I can say has followed a sustainable approach from the start. We are investing $400mn to protect water and the environment. This is unheard of in our industry," said McCulley.
Quellaveco has 1.3bn t of ore reserves containing 7.5mn t of copper with a 0.57pc grade, and a minimum mine life of 30 years.
Related news posts
Fortescue hold firms on 2024-25 iron ore target
Fortescue hold firms on 2024-25 iron ore target
Beijing, 30 August (Argus) — Australian iron ore producer Fortescue has reiterated its iron ore shipment target for the 2024-25 fiscal year ending 30 June of 190mn-200mn t, including 5mn-9mn t from its Iron Bridge project on a 100pc basis. The Iron Bridge magnetite project in Western Australia shipped its first cargo in July last year, with Fortescue's iron ore shipments totalling 191.6mn t for the full year . It had targeted to ship 192mn-197mn t for 2023-24. The company achieved a hematite average revenue of $103/dry metric tonne (dmt), up by 9pc on a year earlier. Hematite C1 costs for 2023-24 rose by 4pc from the previous year to $18.24/wet metric tonne (wmt) because of higher labour rates and mine plan driven cost escalation, although Fortescue said its cost control measures offset the partial increase. It forecasts hematite C1 costs for 2024-25 to rise to $18.50-19.75/wmt. The Argus ICX seaborne iron ore fines assessment for 62pc Fe cfr Qingdao averaged $119.40/dmt for 2023-24. Fortescue is on track to achieve real zero, or no fossil fuels and no offsets, for its scope 1 and 2 terrestrial emissions across its Australian iron ore operations by 2030. It is aiming to achieve this with building a new solar farm, deployment of electric excavators and the use of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell haul truck prototypes. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US OCTG, line pipe imports fall in July
US OCTG, line pipe imports fall in July
Houston, 29 August (Argus) — Preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce shows that imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe products fell in July. OCTG volumes fell by 88,100 metric tonnes (t) from the prior year, as volumes from Japan dropped by 15,500t, South Korea and Thailand both dropped by 13,500t, and volumes from Vietnam and Mexico fell by 11,300t and 9,300t, respectively. Volumes of line pipe less than or equal to 16in fell by 12,300t, as Italian volumes dropped by 4,500t, Ukraine dropped to zero from 4,400t in the prior year, and Brazilian volumes fell by 3,100t. Standard pipe imports increased by 13,400t on a 7,900t increase from Turkey. Heavy structural shape volumes jumped by 39,700t as Spanish volumes increased by 21,700t from the prior year, and imports from Germany rose by 9,200t. By Rye Druzchetta US pipe and tube imports metric tonnes Product Jul-24 Jul-23 Volume change ±% Jun-24 OCTG 95,792 183,909 -88,117 -47.9% 126,760 Line pipe 69,387 80,875 -11,488 -14.2% 87,976 Standard 66,100 52,716 13,384 25.4% 76,317 Heavy Structural Shapes 107,979 68,253 39,726 58.2% 54,096 US Department of Commerce July 2024 data is preliminary data, which is subject to change. Line pipe is all diameters. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Higher flats volumes lead US steel imports up
Higher flats volumes lead US steel imports up
Houston, 29 August (Argus) — Higher volumes of flat steel imports led overall US steel imports higher in July. Total US steel imports for consumption were 2.2mn metric tonnes (t) in July, according to preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports rose by 22,600t from the prior year, driven by a 32,900t jump in Japanese volumes, which were offset slightly by a 9,200t drop from Canada. Cold-rolled coil (CRC) volumes were up by 37,000t in July, with Canada exporting 8,800t more than the prior year. Hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil imports from Brazil jumped by 17,200t from the prior year, while volumes from Mexico rose by 13,000t. Volumes of blooms, billets and slabs dropped by 121,900t, as Mexico's volumes dropped to zero from 95,800t in the prior year. By Rye Druzchetta US steel imports metric tonnes Product Jul-24 Jul-23 Volume change ±% Jun-24 HRC 156,952 134,326 22,626 16.8% 156,861 CRC 172,746 135,778 36,968 27.2% 113,400 HDG 233,511 165,607 67,904 41.0% 238,809 Blooms, billets, slabs 364,138 486,053 -121,915 -25.1% 395,478 Total (all items)* 2,197,347 2,153,126 44,221 2.1% 1,955,800 US Department of Commerce July 2024 data is preliminary data, which is subject to change. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
ThyssenKrupp Steel executives leave as tensions rise
ThyssenKrupp Steel executives leave as tensions rise
London, 29 August (Argus) — Seven board and supervisory board members of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe have left their positions given deepening strife with the chief executive of parent company ThyssenKrupp. There has been an ongoing dispute between ThyssenKrupp chief executive Miguel Lopez and board members of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, including the latter's chief executive Bernhard Osburg, for some months now over the future of the business. Osburg and two other board members from Steel Europe have now stepped down, as has the chairman of the Steel Europe supervisory board Sigmar Gabriel and three other supervisory board members. The members have "lost all confidence in the will and ability of the chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp AG to co-operate appropriately", Gabriel said in a note after a meeting today. He said Lopez has carried out an "unprecedented" and public campaign against the executive board of Steel Europe, damaging its ability to act and breaching trust. The Steel Europe board had proposed a plan to align the business' production to its recent shipments, meaning a decline from about 12mn t/yr to 9mn t/yr, and to exit from steelmaker HKM's joint venture with Salzgitter and Vallourec. HKM is viewed as a high-cost slab producer. However, Lopez felt the plans did not go far enough to restructure the business, calling for a deeper reorganisation and reduction in headcount. A spokesperson for union IG Metall said it "strongly" supports Osburg and the outgoing chairman, and criticises the actions of Lopez. The union is not legally allowed to call for strike action, but has called for protests over the departures. One executive said the dispute could threaten the future of Steel Europe as an entity. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
![](/_next/image?url=%2F-%2Fmedia%2Fproject%2Fargusmedia%2Fmainsite%2Fimages%2F14-generic-hero-banners%2Fherobanner_1600x530_generic-c.jpg%3Fh%3D530%26iar%3D0%26w%3D1600%26rev%3D-1%26hash%3DFC2BEDE406483FEF5FDB9549159BAC11&w=3840&q=75)
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more