The first shipment of approximately 10,000 t of copper concentrate produced as part of commissioning activities at MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas mine departed the Port of Matarani in Peru for China on January 15. Las Bambas is featured in the February International Mining magazine.

The current life-of-mine (LOM) is assessed at more than 20 years, based on an Ore Reserve of 6.9 Mt copper (0.73% Cu grade) and a Mineral Resource of 10.5 Mt copper (0.61% Cu grade).

Las Bambas holds considerable exploration upside potential with only 10% of the total land holding explored so far. MMG has initiated an extensive drilling program at to further define the reserves and resources both within and outside the existing planned pit outlines. Indicative results from this drilling program have started to validate MMG’s view that there is significant upside to the existing resource base.

Las Bambas is a very important project for the Peruvian economy, with total projected tax revenue and royalty payments of at least $5 billion over the LOM. The tax revenue for the Apurimac region is projected to increase by a significant factor in 2015-16 with Las Bambas commencing operation. Significantly, Las Bambas contributed approximately 15% of total mining investment in Peru in 2013.

Picture courtesy of Bechtel, which built the concentrator. www.mmg.com