Chilean state miner Codelco expects to begin production at an expansion project within its flagship El Teniente copper mine in 2029, the mine’s general director Gustavo Reyes said on Wednesday.
Codelco said on August 4 that it had paused the project, which aims to develop the Andes Norte section of the sprawling underground complex, after recent studies showed the mine is under greater seismic risk than initially estimated.
Speaking during a Mining Committee session in the lower house of Congress, Reyes said Codelco is evaluating an expansion of El Teniente‘s mining pit to help make up for the delayed production at the site.
Codelco‘s Corporate Affairs and Sustainability VP Gabriel Mendez also said during the committee session that the company is no longer expected to reach its previously projected annual production target of 1.7-million tons by the end of the decade.