[SMM Analysis] the world's 13th largest smelter closes down and copper Tc/Rc is expected to rise by the end of February next year.

SMM, 13 Dec: in order to meet Chile's stricter emission standards, Codelco plans to carry out a smelting upgrade of nearly US $1 billion in October this year, and with the arrival of the planned overhaul of its Chujikamata (Chuquicamata) copper smelter, it will begin on December 13. A spokesman for the mining company said Chukikamata is expected to undergo 60 to 80 days of repairs and the shutdown is expected to last until the end of February. At the same time, the Potrerillos smelter, located in the El Salvador branch of Codelco, will also be closed for maintenance, and work is expected to continue until the end of January next year.

The Chuquicamata smelter, the world's 13th largest smelter, currently produces 1800 tons a day and repairs with maintenance converters will continue until the first day of November, after which capacity will increase to 2400 tons, Codelco said. Codelco's third largest mine produced 137000 tons in the first half of this year, an increase of 18 per cent over the same period last year.

Chujikamata is a large mine owned by Codelco and one of the top five large copper mines in the world. Codelco's copper mines also include Radomiro Tomic, Ministro Hales, El Teniente, Andina, Gabriela Mistral, Salvador and so on.

The Chucky Camata underground mine project, with an investment of US $4.9 billion, is an important part of Chile's national copper company (Codelco) 's US $39 billion 10-year investment plan. When the mine is completed, the Chujikamata copper mine will be able to mine for another 50 years. In this way, even in the case of declining ore grade and rising production costs, Codelco is able to maintain its current production level.

Codelco, which turns all its profits to the state, is rich in copper resources, with reserves accounting for 10 per cent of the world's copper reserves and copper production of 1.8 million tons, accounting for 11 per cent of the world's copper production.

In 2017, the Chukikamata copper mine produced 330900 tons, accounting for 19 per cent of Codelco's 1.734 million tons of copper production. After moving from open pit to underground mining, Chujikamata copper production is expected to be 320000 tons.

Codelco said the shutdown would not affect copper production, but would affect the mix of copper products because the copper it sells is more concentrate than refined metal. To minimize the impact, the company advanced maintenance work scheduled for next year and 2020. The Chuquicamata smelter has the capacity to process 1.4 million tons of concentrate per year, while Potrerillos can handle 650000 tons per year. Codelco is investing $1 billion in upgrading the Chuquicamata smelter and upgrading the flash furnace to replace the Teniente converter as well as the new acid plant, concentration and drying system and natural gas treatment plant.

SMM said that the Chukikamata copper mine accounts for about 2 percent of the world's copper production, and the overhaul of the smelter will not affect the output of copper concentrate. On the whole, the overhaul will have a limited impact on future supply. Copper prices have also digested expectations in the past two months, and as with the previous shutdown of Vedanta, more copper concentrate will flow into the Asian market without a decrease in copper supply, which will be good for the future TC/RC trend, and continue to pay attention to the progress of Chukika Mata and Potrerillos maintenance.

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