Teck receives environmental approval for Quebrada Blanca copper project
The largest diversified resource company in Canada will press ahead with a copper expansion project, following the confirmation of regulatory approval.
Teck Resources announced in a statement this week that it has received regulatory approval for its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QBD) project, in Northern Chile.
The regional Environmental Committee of Tarapacá voted to approve the project Environmental Impact Assessment (EI), with the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) expected in the coming weeks.
QBD will be a low risk operation utilizing proven technologies, and will include the construction of a new 140,000-tonne-per-day concentrator, tailings storage facility, concentrate pipeline, water supply pipeline, desalination plant, concentrate filtration plant and port to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates.
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It is expected to be a tier one asset in Teck’s portfolio, with low “all in” sustaining costs, an initially permitted mine life of 25 years utilizing only a quarter of reserves and resources, and significant potential for further growth
“Receiving this regulatory approval is a major step forward in advancing our QB2 project,” said Don Lindsay, President and CEO, Teck. “QB2 will be a high quality, low-cost, long-life operation with significant expansion potential that will substantially increase Teck’s copper production and generate considerable value for many years.”
The mine will look to produce around 3000,000 tonnes of copper equivalent per year for the first five years of its mine life.
