Nikkei reported that Marubeni Corporation marked the full fledged launch of operations at a major copper and gold mine in Chile in which it holds 30% stake the fruit of a roughly JPY 200 billion investment.

Mr Teruo Asada president of Marubeni said in marking the opening of the Esperanza mine at a ceremony attended by Mr Sebastian Pinera president of Chile that "It is one of Marubeni's largest investments ever."

The mine in northern Chile is expected to produce an annual 700,000 tonnes of copper concentrates. Local mining concern Antofagasta Plc owns the remaining 70% interest in the mining operations.

Marubeni's take from the project will amount to about 5% of Japan's overall copper demand. The mine is the largest of its kind among those that started operations after 2008. In light of groundwater shortages in the region, the mine utilizes seawater carried via a 145km pipeline.

Marubeni has invested around JPY 200 billion on development and other operations. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation provided a portion of the funding, while Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation is supplying debt guarantees.

(Sourced from Nikkei.com)