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The new 95,000 tonnes-per-day (tpd) concentrator will feature high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) for reduced energy usage. Credit: Jose Luis Stephens/Shutterstock.com.

Mining company Antofagasta has approved the construction of a second concentrator plant at its Centinela copper mine in Chile. It plans to immediately start critical path works. Full construction will begin after finalisation of definitive project finance documents in Q1 2024.

This project will be backed by direct financing from Centinela’s shareholders, Antofagasta and Marubeni, which will contribute around 40% of the overall costs, and funds from lenders.

The second concentrator will be built in two phases. It will add capacity to produce an additional 170,000 copper equivalent tonnes per annum (tpa).

The production will include 144,000 tonnes (t) of copper, 130,000oz of gold and 3,500t of molybdenum. With an ore reserve of around two billion tonnes, the mine life of Centinela is expected to be around 36 years.

The project’s current cost estimate is around $4.4bn, up from the previous $3.7bn announced in August 2022.

The company will also invest in expanding the existing raw seawater pumping and transport system, and a new facility for tailings storage.

US automaker General Motors (GM) and Japanese equipment manufacturer Komatsu are set to jointly develop a hydrogen fuel cell power module for the latter’s 930E electric drive mining truck. 

The two companies will co-design and validate the technology. Hydrogen fuel cells are suitable for electrifying applications conventionally powered by diesel engines as they are both lightweight and easy to refuel with zero emissions. 

The companies plan to trial their first prototype, a HYDROTEC-powered mining vehicle, at Komatsu’s Arizona Proving Grounds research and development facility by the mid-2020s. 

The vehicle will be powered by more than 2MW of HYDROTEC power cubes.

Singapore-based technology start-up Atomionics has entered agreements with three mining companies for the adoption of its Gravio technology, which taps gravity variations to detect minerals, Reuters reported. 

Atomionics CEO Sahil Tapiawala told the news agency that the companies will deploy its technology early next year. The names of the mining companies were not disclosed due to commercial confidentiality.

Gravio is based on highly sensitive ‘gravimeters’ developed by Atomionics. These sensors are used for detecting the unique gravitational variations caused by different minerals, stated Artrocker.

The sensors, coupled with AI algorithms, help pinpoint tiny variations in gravity and measure the potential mineral resources.

Canadian copper developer Arizona Sonoran Copper (ASCU) has signed an option agreement to set up a joint venture (JV) with Rio Tinto subsidiary Nuton for the Cactus project in Arizona, US. 

As part of the JV, Nuton’s copper leach-related technologies will be deployed at the project, which comprises the Cactus mine and Parks/Salyer project. 

Under the agreement, two of ASCU’s subsidiaries, Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (USA) (AUSA) and Cactus 110, will form the JV with Nuton. 

AUSA has granted Nuton an exclusive right and option to acquire between a 35% and 40% interest in its Cactus project. 

The JV agreement provides for total funding of up to $33m (C$44.15m) in cash. It will include $10m, which is payable by Nuton to ASUSA. 

In April 2022, Rio Tinto agreed to invest $23.7m in ASCU and acquire a 7.4% stake in the company.

The Government of Panama has rejected Canadian mining company Orla Mining’s requests for three mining concessions, including the Cerro Quema project. 

The Panamanian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI) cancelled the concessions and declared the area falling under the project a reserve area. 

Located in Azuero Peninsula, in Los Santos province, the Cerro Quema project occupies 15,000ha of land with a copper-gold zone discovery. A pre-feasibility study on the project was completed in July 2021.

It is an open-pit heap leach mine, copper-gold sulphide project with various exploration targets. 

The company’s subsidiary had recently received resolutions from the ministry that sought to cancel the concessions after they have expired and classify them as an under reserve area.

The ministry has also been prohibited from granting mining concessions for exploration or extraction in reserve areas.