BNamericas reported that Multinational resource group BHP Billiton expects to increase production at its Escondida copper mine in Chile to over 1.3 million tonne per year in the 2015 financial year.

Mr Marius Kloppers CEO of BHP Billiton said that “This is more than 600,000 tonnes copper uplift over 2010. In terms of mine equivalence it is sort of like adding another Chuquicamata or Collahuasi."

Escondida is the world's largest copper mine and is currently undergoing a USD 544 million optimization known as the Escondida Ore Access project which will relocate the primary crusher and conveying system to access higher grade ore and increase output from 2013.

Kloppers said that the completion of the ore access project will facilitate a recovery in the grade profile to well over 1% copper through the H2 of the 2012 financial year. That grade recovery together with the commissioning of some de-bottlenecking activities at the Laguna Seca project is expected to drive copper production to over 1.3 million tonne per year.

Mr Kloppers said that the Escondida Organic Growth Project 1 will set the framework for expansion over the coming decades. The company is targeting board approval in the H1 of this year with commissioning scheduled for 2015.

(Sourced from Business News Americas)