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Santiago, 23 June 2011

The Board of Directors of Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi SCM has given its approval for the company’s technical teams to commence a prefeasibility study into a major expansion of Collahuasi, referred to as Phase III. This project would mean a significant increase in the concentrator plant’s processing capacity and the construction of associated infrastructure. 

The project envisages the construction of one or two new grinding lines, allowing Collahuasi to process between 270,000 and 380,000 tonnes of ore a day. This increase in production from the current annual average of approximately 500,000 tonnes of copper to 800,000 tonnes with a single line expansion, and to more than one million tonnes with both lines, would begin from the project’s anticipated commissioning in 2017.

A decision will be taken in the second half of this year on whether to complete studies on the options of either one or two new grinding lines. The prefeasibility study is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2012.

Collahuasi has recently announced approval to increase the processing capacity of its existing concentrator plant to 160,000 tonnes of ore per day by mid-2013. 

"This expansion project is aligned with Collahuasi’s growth plan that seeks to increase annual output to more than one million tonnes of copper supported by Collahuasi’s significant Mineral Resource of 7.1 billion tonnes at an average grade of 0.82%,” said Giancarlo Bruno, Collahuasi Chief Executive Officer.                         

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ABOUT COLLAHUASI

Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi SCM is Chile’s third largest copper mine and produced 504,043 tonnes of fine copper in 2010. Its shareholders are Anglo American Plc with 44%, Xstrata Plc with 44%, and a Japanese consortium headed by Mitsui. Collahuasi provides  direct and indirect employment to more than 10,000 people. Text

ABOUT XSTRATA PLC

Xstrata is a global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss Stock Exchanges. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Xstrata maintains a meaningful position in seven major international commodity markets: copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, nickel, vanadium and zinc with additional exposure to gold, cobalt, lead and silver. The Xstrata Group also comprises a growing platinum group metals business, iron ore projects, recycling facilities and a suite of global technology products, many of which are industry leaders. The Group's operations and projects span 20 countries.

ABOUT XSTRATA COPPER

Xstrata Copper is the fourth largest global copper producer with attributable mined production in 2010 of 913,500 tonnes of copper in cathodes and concentrates. The company is also one of the world’s largest producers of smelter and refined copper, including from third party materials.

Headquartered in Brisbane, Xstrata Copper is one of the commodity business units within the major global diversified mining group Xstrata plc. Its mining and metallurgical operations and development projects span eight countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Peru, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and the USA. Its operations and projects are administered through a regional divisional management structure, which ensures that critical decisions are taken close to the related businesses. It also has a recycling business (Xstrata Recycling) with plants in the United States and offices in Canada and Asia.