[SMM News] Antofagasta and Zaldivar copper mine workers extend government mediation

Orvana Minerals has begun the commercial ramp-up of its new SX-EW copper cathode circuit at the Don Mario operation in Bolivia after completing commissioning. Stable commercial production is targeted for September 2026. However, logistics disruptions caused by nationwide unrest delayed the project, prompting Orvana to cut FY2026 copper guidance to 1.9–2.1 million lb from 6.7–7.5 million lb.

The KZAM plant of Korea Zinc’s battery materials subsidiary has a designed lithium battery copper foil capacity of 13,000 mt/year and has already carried out trial production and customer certification. On August 13, the company announced that commercial mass production officially began in June 2026, and it has now delivered its first products to battery producers worldwide. The copper foil will be used in EVs and ESS lithium batteries manufactured in North America. The business is expected to generate up to 40 billion won in revenue, and capacity will subsequently be gradually released through stable production and yield improvement. This copper foil uses a closed-loop resource recycling model. Secondary raw materials recovered by PedalPoint in the US are refined into environmentally friendly copper at the Onsan smelter and then processed into finished products by KZAM. The project is one of the three strategic pillars of Korea Zinc’s “Troika Drive,” marking the company’s official entry into the global battery materials commercial supply chain.