China’s largest overseas copper mine begins operations in Peru

china.org.cn reported that The Toromocho project, China’s largest overseas copper project, started production in Peru on Dec. 11. The project, one of the top 20 in the world, has a copper reserve of 1.2 million tons, 19 percent of China’s domestic total copper resources. It will produce 220,000 metric tons of refined copper annually, 18 percent of domestic annual production.

Chinalco Mining Corp. International has constructed the project over six years with advanced Engineering Procurement Construction Management (EPCM), the shortest time for any such copper mine. The project has the world’s largest power shovels, mining trucks, semi-autogenous mills and other top level equipment. Its production cost is estimated to be lower than 75 percent of copper mines worldwide with the advanced construction, operation and management patterns. Read Article