Sorry if already posted as there was something similar about Vale here recently but this is dated today in Latin American Herald.
“One of Vale’s strategic objectives in the mid-term is to become one of the world’s leading copper producers,” the company said.
So they actually develop smaller mines like 18,000tns per annum in Chile.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=361425&CategoryId=14090
