KGHM exploring in the vicinity of Sierra Gorda

The world's largest silver mining company and copper mining leader KGHM is exploring sites around the vicinity of Sierra Gorda, Chile. The new deposits are within 10 km of the current project and could be easily serviced by the existing ore processing plant. The new deposits could prolong the life of the Sierra Gorda copper mine for another 20 years. The current processing plant is able to process up to 230 tons of copper per year, according to ISBnews. CEO of KGHM Herbert Wirth reminded that there are ongoing projects in development in Canada - Afton Ajax and Victoria. The opening of these mining projects is scheduled for 2018 and 2020, but the first extraction efforts will take place already this year. "In Victoria, the amount of platinum, palladium and gold is very high, allowing us to mine copper basically at zero cost," said Wirth. "We are not planning any further major investments aside from these three main projects. ... It is difficult to ascertain the scale and costs of the projects as they are in the technical analysis stage of development. We will most likely seek outside financing to support our investments." The first six thousand tons of copper concentrate from Sierra Gorda is due to arrive in Japan in November.