Following successful operations testing and final regulatory clearance, Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) has started commercial copper operations at its Quellaveco project in Peru.
Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes per year of copper equivalent volume on average over its first 10 years of operation.
In a statement, Anglo American chief executive officer Duncan Wanblad said: "Our delivery of Quellaveco, a major new world-class copper mine, is a testament to the incredible efforts of our workforce and our commitment to our stakeholders in Peru over many years.
"Quellaveco alone is expected to lift our total global output by 10% in copper equivalent terms and take our total copper production close to 1mln tonnes per year.”
Commenting on the operations, Ruben Fernandes, chief executive officer of the company’s Base Metals segment, said: “We designed Quellaveco as one of Anglo American's and South America's most technologically advanced mines, incorporating autonomous drilling and haulage fleets – a first in Peru – a remote operations centre, as well as a number of Anglo American's digital and advanced processing technologies.”
Anglo American expects that Quellaveco will ramp up fully over the next nine to 12 months.