Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
- Copper
- Molybdenum
- Gold
- Silver
|
Mining Method |
|
Production Start | ...  |
Mine Life | 2040 |
El Abra's large sulfide resource supports a potential major mill project similar to the large- scale concentrator constructed at Cerro Verde in 2015. Technical and economic studies continue to be evaluated to determine the optimal scope and timing for the sulfide project. |
Source:
p. 22
Freeport-McMoRan Inc has a 51 percent ownership interest in El Abra, and the remaining 49 percent interest is held by the state-owned copper enterprise Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile.
Contractors
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Summary:
The El Abra mine is a porphyry copper deposit that has sulfide and oxide mineralization. The predominant primary sulfide copper minerals are bornite and chalcopyrite. There is a minor amount of secondary sulfide mineralization as chalcocite. The oxide copper minerals are chrysocolla and pseudomalachite. There are lesser amounts of copper bearing clays and tenorite.
Summary:
El Abra is an open-pit copper mining complex that has been in operation since 1996 and is located 47 miles north of Calama in Chile’s El Loa province, Region II.
The available fleet consists of twenty-three 242-metric-ton haul trucks loaded by four electric shovels with buckets ranging in size from 29 to 41 cubic meters, which are capable of moving 217,000 metric tons of material per day.
The highest bench elevation is 4,225 meters above sea level and the ultimate pit bottom is expected to be 3,385 meters above sea level.
Source:
Summary:

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Reserves at December 31, 2022:
Mineral Reserves Cut-off grades: Heap leach - 0.14 % CuEq, ROM leach - 0.08 % CuEq.
Mineral Resources Cut-off grades: Heap leach - 0.12 % CuEq, ROM leach - 0.07 % CuEq.
Category | OreType | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal | Recoverable Metal |
Proven & Probable
|
Heap leach
|
627 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.45 %
|
B lbs
|
3.2 B lbs
|
Proven & Probable
|
ROM leach
|
95 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.23 %
|
B lbs
|
0.2 B lbs
|
Proven & Probable
|
Stockpiles
|
893 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.43 %
|
B lbs
|
0.2 B lbs
|
Measured
|
Heap leach
|
998 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.46 %
|
|
|
Measured
|
ROM leach
|
58 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.25 %
|
|
|
Measured
|
Heap leach
|
998 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.01 %
|
|
|
Measured
|
Heap leach
|
998 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.03 g/t
|
|
|
Measured
|
Heap leach
|
998 Mt
|
Silver
|
1.55 g/t
|
|
|
Indicated
|
Heap leach
|
1,743 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.37 %
|
|
|
Indicated
|
ROM leach
|
54 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.27 %
|
|
|
Indicated
|
Heap leach
|
1,743 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.01 %
|
|
|
Indicated
|
Heap leach
|
1,743 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.02 g/t
|
|
|
Indicated
|
Heap leach
|
1,743 Mt
|
Silver
|
1.17 g/t
|
|
|
Inferred
|
Heap leach
|
1,573 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.3 %
|
|
|
Inferred
|
ROM leach
|
41 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.28 %
|
|
|
Inferred
|
Heap leach
|
1,573 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.01 %
|
|
|
Inferred
|
Heap leach
|
1,573 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.01 g/t
|
|
|
Inferred
|
Heap leach
|
1,573 Mt
|
Silver
|
0.87 g/t
|
|
|
Total Resource
|
Heap leach
|
4,314 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.36 %
|
34.5 B lbs
|
|
Total Resource
|
ROM leach
|
153 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.26 %
|
0.9 B lbs
|
|
Total Resource
|
Heap leach
|
4,314 Mt
|
Molybdenum
|
0.01 %
|
0.76 B lbs
|
|
Total Resource
|
Heap leach
|
4,314 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.02 g/t
|
2.4 M oz
|
|
Total Resource
|
Heap leach
|
4,314 Mt
|
Silver
|
1.15 g/t
|
159.4 M oz
|
|
Commodity Production Costs:
| Commodity | Units | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Cash costs
|
Copper
|
USD
|
2.13 / lb†
|
2 / lb†
|
1.77 / lb†
|
† Net of By-Product.
Financials:
| Units | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Revenue
|
M USD
| ......  | ......  | ......  |
596.1
|
501.1
|
After-tax Income
|
M USD
| ......  | ......  | ......  |
20.8
|
31.3
|
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Source:

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Heavy Mobile Equipment as of December 31, 2022:
HME Type | Size | Quantity |
Shovel (rope)
|
|
.......................
|
Truck (haul)
|
242 t
|
.......................
|
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