Mining Intelligence and News
Chile

Radomiro Tomic Mine

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Molybdenum
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
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SnapshotThe Radomiro Tomic mine is a state of the art facility, and the world’s largest producer of copper using the highly efficient SX-EW process.

Sulfides Radomiro Tomic II considers the construction of a 100 thousand tons per day (ktpd) concentrator plant and the implementation of chloride leaching for the hydrometallurgy line. This project is in the pre-feasibility study stage with progress of 91.4%.

The desalination plant for Northern Operations, whose industrial water reservoir is located in DRT, began construction and purchase orders were issued for the main equipment.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Codelco Corp. (operator) 100 % Indirect
Codelco Corp. develops business in seven mining divisions: Chuquicamata, Minister Hales, Radomiro Tomic, Gabriela Mistral, Salvador, Andina and El Teniente, in addition to the Ventanas Refinery.

The deposits and plants belong to the State of Chile, which grants company the power to exploit and manage them.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Porphyry

Summary:

The Chuquicamata district includes the Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic megadeposits, the exotic copper deposit Mina Sur, the newly developed Ministro Hales mine (formerly known as Mansa Mina) located 5.5 km south of Chuquicamata, and the deposits of the Toki cluster (Toki, Genoveva, Quetena, Miranda, and Opache) located about 15 km SSW of Chuquicamata. Total identified resources for the Chuquicamata district are estimated at 107.4 Mt of fine copper considering a cutoff Cu grade of 0.2 wt% (Codelco Memoria Anual 2011). Inferred resources for the cluster are estimated at about 20 Mt of fine copper, with Toki contributing with ca. 11.2 Mt and Quetena with ~3.8 Mt (Camus 2003; Rivera et al. 2006).

The deposits of the district are located in the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene (43–31 Ma) porphyry copper belt that extends for about 1,400 km, from 18°S to 31°S (Sillitoe 1988; Sillitoe and Perelló 2005). The rocks in the area range in age from Paleozoic to Tertiary. The main structural feature observed is the West Fault, which is part of the Domeyko Fault System (Boric et al. 1990; Dilles et al. 1997) and divides the district in two domains: an eastern domain and a western domain.

The main copper oxide minerals in the Radomiro Tomic deposit are atacamite, copper clays, chrysocolla, and copper wad. Their relative abundance provides the basis for dividing the oxide zone into two major geologic units: the Upper Oxide unit and the Lower Oxide unit. Furthermore, the study of mineral abundances in the oxide zones allowed the definition of an oxide mineral zonation that consists of five mineral assemblages, based on the relative proportion of the three main copper oxide components: atacamite, copper clays, and chrysocolla. These classifications allow both an understanding of the distribution of copper minerals throughout the zone and an interpretation of the supergene processes that formed it.

The Upper Oxide unit is mineralogically heterogeneous. The copper content is furnished, on average, by 40 vol percent atacamite, 31 vol percent copper clays with minor chysocolla and copper wad. The Lower Oxide unit is more homogeneous. Atacamite accounts for 70 vol percent of the copper ore minerals with minor amounts of copper clays and chrysocolla. Copper and chlorine concentrations and porosity are greater in the Upper Oxide unit, whereas hematite, chalcocite, and molybdenite concentrations and specific gravity are greater in the Lower Oxide unit.

The vertical distribution of the Cl/Cu ratio shows a chlorine-deficient zone located between elevations of 2,780 and 2,870 m. Between these elevations, the proportion of atacamite is lower and the proportion of copper clays, chrysocolla, and copper wad is higher than in other portions of either the Upper Oxide or Lower Oxide units.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnits202320222021202020192018201720162015
Copper Cathode t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe266,415332,667318,878318,255315,747
Molybdenum Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe5056211,7391,7701,176

Operational metrics

Metrics202220212020201920182017
Daily processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe70,753 kdmt77,692 kdmt78,582 kdmt

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20212020201920182017
C1 cash costs Copper USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1.54 / lb   1.34 / lb   1.31 / lb  

Financials

Units2023202220212020201920182017
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1,669   2,084   2,315  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 452   783.9   812.8  
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 230.2   488.6   471.2  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 67.2   159.5   160.6  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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AV - Autonomous

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required May 26, 2024
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Aerial view:

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