Overview
Stage | Permitting |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Mine Life | 32 years (as of Jan 1, 2021) |
Taca Taca is one of the largest, highest-quality copper projects globally. It will consist of an open-pit copper mine and ore processing plant to produce up to 275,000 tonnes of copper per year along with gold and molybdenum by-products. With an initial mine life of 32 years and a large resource base, Taca Taca is projected to be both long-life and low-cost.
An initial Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the project was submitted in 2019 with final approval expected in 2024. First Quantum expects to make a development decision on Taca Taca in 2024. |
Source:
p. 8, 87
The project is owned 100% by the First Quantum Minerals Ltd. through its Argentinian subsidiary Corriente Argentina S.A.
Contractors
- Subscription is required.
Deposit Type
- Porphyry
- Vein / narrow vein
Summary:
Taca Taca has porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum mineralisation located in the southern half of a 50 km long Ordovician batholith, which forms the Sierra de Taca Taca mountain range. The Taca Taca mineralisation is hosted by plutonic rocks of granitic composition together with lesser dacite, dolerite, and rhyolite intrusions. The porphyry is characterised by kilometre-scale zones of hydrothermally altered rocks that grade from a central potassic core to outer phyllic and argillic zones. Phyllic alteration is most pervasive across the deposit and is closely associated with mineralisation.
Mineralisation is comprised of supergene (chalcocite) and hypogene (chalcopyrite) zones. A sub-surface leached horizon of varying thickness overlies the supergene and hypogene mineralisation. Mineralisation is disseminated and in fractures, veinlets, and quartz vein stockworks.
The leached horizon is largely depleted of copper mineralisation except for a zone of chalcocite-rich ore perched within the leached material to the east of the deposit. In addition, a zone of supergene gold mineralisation, close to surface, is present above the thickest portion of leached material.
Hypogene copper sulphides are mostly chalcopyrite with lesser bornite, chalcocite, covellite, and digenite. The mineralisation is broadly zoned with a chalcopyrite-bornite-molybdenite core yielding to a stronger pyritic halo around the outer edges. Supergene zones are mostly secondary sulphi ........
Summary:
The Taca Taca deposit grades, geometry, and depth make it suitable for conventional, large-scale, bulk open pit mining methods involving blasthole drills, diesel hydraulic excavators, electric shovels and off-highway haul trucks.
Open pit mining would proceed in phases from an initial starter pit, supplying pre-strip development waste for site infrastructure and construction, and ore onto stockpile for process plant commissioning. The average and maximum material movements over this three year timeframe are 32.9 Mbcm and 43.3 Mbcm, respectively. There is a pronounced peak in material movements over the next ten years as the first three pit phases are completed and mining proceeds into the fourth phase. The average and maximum material movements over this period are 91.9 Mbcm and 95.7 Mbcm, respectively. Thereafter, the average and maximum material movements reduce to 42.3 Mbcm and 65.2 Mbcm, respectively.
Loading and hauling
A fleet of Company owned and operated primary mining equipment would be used for loading and hauling of plant feed to a ROM pad crusher at the processing plant , and for waste to external dumps, and ore to interim stockpiles. It is expected that on-highway trucks would be used to haul material to the TSF starter embankment as required.
The primary loading and hauling equipment is expected to be electric powered shovels with approximately 90 t bucket capacity, matched with 360 t capacity haul trucks. A large excavato ........
Source:
- subscription is required.
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
- subscription is required.
Pipelines and Water Supply
Source:
- subscription is required.
Reserves at October 30, 2020:
The actual marginal cut-off grade for the Mineral Reserve varies according to the copper recovery assigned to the various mineralogical groupings. However, the overall average marginal copper cut-off grade is in the order of 0.13% Cueq. An elevated cut-off grade of 0.20% Cueq applies to the plant feed inventory for the production schedule.
Mineral Resource using a 0.13% Cueq cut-off grade.
Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven & Probable
|
1,759 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.44 %
|
7,735 kt
|
Proven & Probable
|
1,759 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.09 g/t
|
5,087 koz
|
Proven & Probable
|
1,759 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.012 %
|
213.5 kt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,203 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.43 %
|
9,451 kt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,203 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.09 g/t
|
6,052 koz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,203 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.012 %
|
264.54 kt
|
Inferred
|
716.9 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.31 %
|
2,206 kt
|
Inferred
|
716.9 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.05 g/t
|
1,183 koz
|
Inferred
|
716.9 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.009 %
|
65.15 kt
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
- Subscription is required.
- Subscription is required.