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Vale moves ahead with Salobo copper expansion to add 30,000 tonnes

The CPF expansion is set to lift Salobo throughput to 42 million tonnes per year, with first production targeted for the first half of 2028.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

Vale Base Metals, part of Vale, is adding about 30,000 tonnes of annual production at the Salobo copper mine in Brazil as it advances a coarse particle flotation, or CPF, expansion.

According to Mining.com, the project is expected to increase Salobo’s total throughput by 6 million tonnes to 42 million tonnes a year, and it is also designed to include about 15,000 ounces of gold byproduct.

Vale cut the project’s estimated capital cost to about $215 million from a prior range of $225 million to $275 million, and Wheaton Precious Metals will contribute $40 million under an amended streaming agreement.

The construction license for the project was granted by Brazil’s environmental regulator ahead of schedule, enabling earlier start of construction, and Vale targets first production in the first half of 2028, estimating an after-tax internal rate of return of more than 50% and lowering its net capital commitment to about $175 million after Wheaton’s funding.

Latest closeGold $4,467.10 ▲1.9%|Copper $6.604 ▼0.1%

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