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  • Pages
  • Editions
01 Cover
02 Welcome Letter / Sections
03 Article & Interview Directory
04 Section 1: Introduction
05 An Evolving Constitutional Landscape
06 Chile Ministry of Mining Interview
07 Consejo Minero Interview
08 APRIMIN Interview
09 Expert Opinion Article: Francisco Acuña, CRU
10 Expert Insights: Chile’s Evolving Sociopolitical Landscape
11 ESG & Renewable Energy
12 ICMM Interview
13 Aggreko Interview
14 Mining Investment Climate
15 Appian Capital Advisory Interview
16 Expert Insights: Attracting Sustainable Investment
17 Section 2: Production & Development
18 Copper Production & Development
19 BHP Interview
20 Antofagasta PLC Interview
21 Freeport McMoRan Interview
22 Teck Resources Limited Interview
23 Amerigo Resources Interview
24 Precious Metals
25 Kinross Interview
26 Rio2 Limited Interview
27 Lithium
28 SQM Interview
29 Albemarle Interview
30 Section 3: Junior Exploration
31 Study-stage Copper Projects
32 Expert Insights: Chile's Junior Exploration Community
33 World Copper Limited Interview
34 Early-stage Opportunities
35 ATEX Resources Interview
36 Torq Resources Interview
37 Pampa Metals Interview
38 VerAI Discoveries Interview
39 Lithium Exploration and Development
40 Lithium Chile Interview
41 Wealth Minerals Interview
42 Monumental Minerals Interview
43 Section 4: Engineering, Construction & Consultancies
44 Engineering & Consultancies
45 Water and the Environment
46 JRI Interview
47 Wood Interview
48 SRK Consulting Interview
49 Construction & Contractors
50 Sigdo Koppers Interview
51 Züblin Strabag Interview
52 Echeverría Izquierdo Interview
53 Thiess Interview
54 Going Underground
55 Master Drilling Interview
56 Robbins Interview
57 INCIMMET Interview
58 Section 5: Equipment & Technology
59 The Evolution of Mining Equipment
60 Scania Interview
61 Expert Insights: OEMs on Sustainability and Innovation
62 Comminution & Material Handling
63 Metso Outotec Interview
64 ME Elecmetal Interview
65 TAKRAF Interview
66 Haver & Boecker Interview
67 Innovation & Technology
68 Hexagon Interview
69 DSI Underground Interview
70 Dingo Interview
71 Pipes, Valves, Components & Wear Protection
72 Hofmann Engineering Interview
73 Expert Insights: The Benefits of AI and Automation
74 Section 6: Services
75 Drilling & Blasting
76 Geotec Boyles Bros Interview
77 Enaex Interview
78 Services
79 SGS Interview
80 Section 7: Sponsored Company Profiles
81 FreePort-McMoRan Profile
82 Rio2 Company Profile
83 Lithium Chile Profile
84 Metso Outotec Company Profile
85 SGS Company Profile
86 Credits

Joshua Olmsted, President and COO – Americas,

FREEPORT MCMORAN

"Uncertainty in the last couple of years has caused a number of us to step back and see how this plays out before we make any major decisions on future projects."

How was 2021 for Freeport-McMoRan in Chile from an operational perspective, and what is being done to ramp up production at El Abra in 2022?

2021 was a year of transition and planning for the future for Freeport in Chile, continuing to weather the storm with respect to Covid, but in the grand scheme of things it was very successful. In 2022, we have been working to ramp up El Abra to pre-pandemic levels, which we expect to achieve later in the year. Moving forward, we will be in the range of 200 million to 250 million lb/y of production. Concurrently, we are in the process of constructing a new leach pad to stack material on. During the height of the pandemic, we had been doing campaign maintenance and operations, and the focus of the ramp-up process now is to revert back to a 24/7 way of operating, which is all about planning and scheduling rather than overcoming any technical hurdles.

What potential do you see for expansion at El Abra to grow the oxide open-pit and develop the sulfide resource underground?

It is a significant opportunity for us long term on the sulfide side. We are also drilling to see if there are opportunities to extend the current operation while we move forward with the sulfide planning. We have done a lot of work historically on the engineering side, but this year, the focus is on being prepared to submit an EIS for the mill sulfide project, as well as ongoing stakeholder engagement.

What could reforms to the Chilean constitution mean for Freeport’s investments in the country?

There is a huge opportunity in Chile for continued investment in the mining industry, but it will be dependent on how legal frameworks progress over time. Uncertainty in the last couple of years has caused a number of us to step back and see how this plays out before we make any major decisions on future projects, because you need some degree of fiscal and regulatory certainty in the environment you are operating in. We would probably be moving faster on the El Abra project if we had more clarity.

Can you provide examples of some of Freeport’s most tangible ESG initiatives in Chile?

El Abra was the first operation in Chile to be certified under The Copper Mark, and Freeport is also a member of ICMM, so we work under those principals. We have been focused on the key issues surrounding ESG in Chile for many years, such as biodiversity, diversity, water and communities. El Abra was the first private mining company that was certified under Chile’s voluntary gender equality and work life balance ordinance, for example. On the water side, we have partnered with communities in the Atacama since 2009 to provide desalinated water, and we continue to help operate and maintain this plant today. At El Abra, the plant site is at lower elevation than the mine site, and in the 10 km between this there is a community called Conchi Viejo, which was really impacted by the storms in northern Chile a couple of years ago. We worked hand in hand with the community to rebuild it, but also to think about how to prevent heavy damage if something like this happens again.

What is Freeport-McMoRan’s broad strategy for expansion in the Americas?

We have been really focused on organic growth because we recognize there are opportunities within Freeport’s existing assets. El Abra is a good example, as long as the conditions for investment make sense. In the US, our Bagdad operation in Arizona has over 80 years of reserve life, which offers an opportunity to increase the milling rate for which we are working on a feasibility study. More front and center would be our Lone Star operation in Arizona, which has been expanding incrementally over time through a debottlenecking process. Today, we are stacking at about 95,000 t/d at Lone Star, on the path to 120,000 t/d, before making a decision on the transition to a large sulfide operation, similar to El Abra.

Another focus has been digital analytics for the leaching part of the business to identify incremental copper production in the near term.

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Interview: Teck Resources Limited