antofagasta

Although the JV with Antofagasta was a price sensitive announcement for us, good to see it finally rates a tucked away mention from our huge JV partner.

Their Q3 announcement advises quarterly production of 165,000 tonnes of copper, massive!!!

"Projects and exploration
Following the completion of the pre-feasibility study in the Group’s Sierra Gorda district at the end of September, the Group approved the initiation of a feasibility study for the potential expansion of copper production in the district through utilising the Telégrafo and Caracoles deposits. The feasibility study for the Sierra Gorda district, which follows completion of a pre-feasibility study initiated in May 2010, will examine the construction of new facilities to process sulphide ores from each of the Telégrafo and Caracoles deposits. In total, this could potentially increase sulphide processing capacity in the Sierra Gorda district from 97,000 tonnes of ore per day when the Esperanza mine reaches design capacity to a total of approximately 300,000 tonnes of ore per day by mid to late 2016. Additionally, both Telégrafo and Caracoles have oxide ores which could be processed at the El Tesoro SX-EW plant maintaining cathode production at near plant capacity until approximately 2020. The feasibility study, for which a budget of US$109 million has been approved, is expected to be completed in early 2013.
The feasibility study in respect of the Antucoya project is now substantially complete and is undergoing internal review, and early works in respect of this project have begun.
The Group has signed exploration agreements with Eiseb Exploration & Mining Limited and Manica Minerals Limited, both relating to exploration opportunities in Namibia, and with Sipa Resources Limited relating to exploration opportunities in Western Australia.
At the Reko Diq project in Pakistan, Tethyan Copper Company Pty. Limited (“Tethyan”), the Group’s joint venture with Barrick Gold Corporation, received a response from the Government of Balochistan (“GoB”) on 21 September 2011 in relation to its mining licence application, as reported by Tethyan last month. The response set out a number of queries and observations in respect of the application, and gave Tethyan 30 days to respond to the observations. Tethyan sought to meet with the GoB to better understand their observations and concerns and requested an extension of an additional 60 days in order to engage with the GoB, however no extension was granted. On 19 October 2011, under the Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (“CHEJVA”) between Tethyan and the GoB, Tethyan submitted its response to the GoB. Tethyan also filed a “Notice of Dispute” under the terms of the CHEJVA, which allows for a 120 day period during which Tethyan and the GoB may seek to meet and resolve the dispute.
The transfer of Franconia Minerals Corporation’s (“Franconia”) assets into Twin Metals Minnesota LLC (“Twin Metals”) was completed at the end of August 2011, following the arrangements entered into in December 2010 between the Group and Duluth Metals Limited, its partner in the Twin Metals project. This has resulted in the consolidation of Twin Metals’ position in the Duluth Complex region in northeastern Minnesota through the inclusion of Franconia’s controlling interest in the Birch Lake Joint Venture with Twin Metals’ existing Nokomis deposit. In October 2011 Twin Metals initiated the pre-feasibility stage of the project, following completion of a conceptual study."

I'm feeling very confident about our future!!!

JR