The Antamina, one of the world’s largest copper/zinc mines located in the Andes mountain range of Peru, has received a permit from the country’s environmental regulatory agency for the US$2 billion expansion project to extend the mine’s production life from 2028 to 2036.

The approved changes include the expansion of the open pit and the optimization of the mine’s dumps and tailings dam.

After the expansion, Antamina’s mine area will be increased by 25% and the open pit will be deepened by 150 meters, which means that the available daily ore extraction will be up to 173,000 tons and the daily waste disposal volume will be up to around 742,000 tons.

The Antamina mine is co-owned by Glencore (33.75%), BHP (33.75%), Teck Resources (22.5%), and Mitsubishi (10%).