Australian iron ore giant BHP Billiton announced on Tuesday the approval of its share of the capital expenditure required to expand the mining and processing capacity at the Antamina copper and zinc mine in northern Peru.
Antamina, which is a joint venture between BHP Billiton (33.75 percent), Xstrata (33.75 percent), Teck Resources (22.5 percent) and Mitsubishi Corporation (10 percent), is aiming to increase its ore processing capacity by 38 percent to 130,000 mt per day. All four partners have approved their respective shares of the project's $1,288 million capital budget of which BHP Billiton's share is $434.7 million, a press release by the company said.
The higher mineral ore reserves previously reported in combination with the expanded processing capacity will result in a mine life extension of six years from 2023 until 2029. First production from the expansion is anticipated in late 2011.