ATACOCHA-- FEATURE ARTICLE – JUNE 2020

摘要

The Atacocha mine, operated by Compania Minera Milpo, is located 25km northeast of Cerro de Pasco in Peru. Production started in 1925 and has expanded a number of times to current capacity of 1.6Mtpa. Over the last few years, a decline in head grade has seen zinc production at the operation fall from 58kt in 2006 to 22kt in 2016 despite an increase in throughput. To counteract the decline in grade and keep production at 22–30ktpa, Milpo started an open pit operation at Atacocha in 2017. This has allowed Milpo to stabilise production at a much lower mining cost than the underground. Based on the current plan, Milpo expects mine life to extend to 2028.