Last month, our partners met to advance on the tasks of WP3. Project partners, Werner Warscheid (Cumbres Exploraciones S.A.C) and Chris Broadbent (Wardell Armstrong International Ltd) visited two mines operated by Nexa Resources Peru to obtain bulk samples of ore collected immediately post-primary crushing from El Porvenir e Atacocha mine (Cerro Pasco) in the high Andes (ca. 4,400m asl) and Cerro Lindon Mine at a lower altitude in the foothills of the Andes ca. 200km south east of Lima.
CumbrEx organised with Nexa for 7 tonnes of representative ore from each site to be loaded onto pallets on a flatbed lorry. Both our representatives were also given unrestricted access to the current mineral processing plants at each site and copies of the current mineral processing flowsheet. At both sites, a fairly conventional flowsheet comprising crushing-grinding-bulk concentrate production followed by-production of individual concentrates for copper, lead and zinc is used. Polymetallic (Cu, Pb, Zn) sulphidic ore is mined at both El Porvenir and Cerro Lindon. At El Porvenir, the tailings are disposed of sub-aqueously in a conventional TMF whereas at Cerro Lindon dry stacked tailings disposal is deployed.
Our sampling team would like to express many thanks to the Nexa Resources Management for their co-operation and allowing access to the two mines as well as donation of ore to the project.
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