codelco products directory

CODELCO Products Directory

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Codelco sells its products directly through the Company’s Vicepresidency and composed of a network of subsidiaries and sales representatives present in all the main markets.

The network has been set up to foster harmonious, long-term relationships with direct consu-mers.

SALES ORGANIZATION

The Corporación Nacional del Cobre (Codelco), Chile’s national copper corporation, is a mining, ore processing and metals marketing company, which was established on April 1, 1976.

The Corporación Nacional del Cobre (Codelco), Chile’s national copper corporation, is a mining, ore processing, industrial and commercial company, which was established on April 1, 1976.

As the legal successor to the former operators of the Chuquicamata, Salvador, Andina and El Teniente ore deposits, Codelco has used its human resources, organizational capacity, and years of experience in the mining industry to become the largest copper producer in the world, with annual total output of over 1.7 million metric fine tonnes of copper and roughly 22,000 metric fine tonnes of molybdenum.

The Corporation’s mineral resources amount to roughly 118 million metric fine tonnes and 57,5 million metric fine tonnes of proven ore reserves of copper. This situates the Corporation in a favorable position to continue supplying in the long term, and with high efficiency, the global copper and molybdenum markets.

CODELCOPRODUCTS DIRECTORY

CODELCO OVERVIEW


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CopperHigh purity cathodes, anodic copper and concentrates. As a leading supplier of high purity cathodes, Codelco also produces and markets wirerod through its subsidiary in Germany, thus enhancing its role in the copper market.

INSURANCECodelco fully insures its products, form the time they leave the plant until they reach the customer.

By-productsMolybdenum concentrate, roasted molybdenum concentrate (technical molybdenum oxide) in powder and briquettes, electrolytic gold and silver, sulphuric acid, anodic slimes, selenium, tellurium and palladium - platinum concentrate.

PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTSThe company’s range of products includes copper goods, as well as a variety of by-products.

ENVIRONMENT All the Codelco´s Divisions have achieved ISO 14001 certification.


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PRODUCTION UNITSCodelco has used its human resources, organizational capacity, and years of experience in the mining industry to become the largest copper and molybdenum producer in the world.

The Radomiro Tomic Division is located 1,670 kilome-ters north of Santiago, at an altitude of 3,000 meters. With an annual output of about 305,000 Mt of electro-lytic copper cathodes, the Division operates one open-pit ore: “Radomiro Tomic”.

The Chuquicamata Division is a mining and metallurgi-cal complex is located 1,650 kilometers north of Santia-go, at an altitude of 2,870 meters. With an annual output of about 660.000 metric tonnes of electrolytic copper cathodes, the Division operates two open-pit ores : “Chuquicamata” and “Mina Sur”.Other products are recovered in treatment processes, including about 12,000 metric tonnes of molybdenum content in the form of molybdenite concentrate and roasted molybdenum concentrate.The Division also produces about 700 metric tonnes of anodic slime and 1.3million metric tonnes of sulphuric acid per year.

CHUQUICAMATA DIVISION RADOMIRO TOMIC DIVISION


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MINERA GABYMinera Gaby the newest mine of Codelco, is located 1,600 kilometers north of Santiago, at an altitude of 2,700 meters. With an annual output of about 130,000 metric tonnes of electrolytic copper cathodes, the Di-vision operates one open-pit ore: “GABY”.

EL ABRA MINE Free Port McMoran (51%) and Codelco (49%) share ownership of El Abra. The mine is located 1,680 km north of Santiago, 3,300 meters above sea level. Ca-thode production began in 1996 and today El Abra produces ABRA brand cathodes, with an installed capacity of 130,000 metric tonnes per year.

The Corporation’s proven ore reserves amount to roughly 57,5 million metric fine tonnes of copper.


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SALVADOR DIVISIONThis Division is located 1,100 kilometers north of San-tiago at 2,600 meters above sea level and operates the underground “Inca” mine, the “Campamento Antiguo” and “Damiana Norte” open-pit mines.

About 168,000 metric tonnes of electrolytic copper ca-thodes are produced annually at the Salvador Division. Molybdenum production from concentrate amounts to some 1,000 metric fine tonnes of molybdenum content.

The Division also produces 300 metric tonnes per year of anodic slime and 530,000 metric tonnes per year of sulphuric acid.

ANDINA DIVISIONLocated 120 kilometers northeast of Santiago, the An-dina Division operates the “Rio Blanco” underground mine at 3,700 meters above sea level and the “Sur Sur” and “Don Luis” open-pit mines, at some 4,200 meters above sea level. Total annual concentrate production is about 200,000 metric tonnes of fine copper. Andina´s molybdenum concentrate production stands at about 3,000 metric tonnes of molybdenum content per year.


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EL TENIENTE DIVISIONThe “El Teniente” Division’s mining operations are lo-cated 80 kilometers south of Santiago at 2,500 me-ters above sea level. “El Teniente” is the largest un-derground copper mine in the world and produces 340,000 metric tonnes of anodic copper annually. This Division also produces about 50,000 metric fine tonnes of copper in the form of copper concentrate and 2,500 metric tonnes of electrolytic copper catho-des annually.El Teniente’s molybdenum production amounts to about 5,000 metric tonnes of molybdenum content per year. The Division also produces about 1.15 mi-llion metric tonnes of sulphuric acid annually.

VENTANAS DIVISIONThis Division is located 150 km northeast of Santiago. With an annual output of about 380,000 metric tonnes of electrolytic copper cathodes, this Division also pro-duces 3,200 kilograms of electrolytic gold, 120,000 kilograms of electrolytic silver, 370,000 metric tonnes of sulphuric acid, 56,000 kilograms of selenium, 150 kilograms of tellurium, and 100 kilograms of palladium and platinum concentrate, annually.


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ELECTROLYTIC COPPER CATHODESANODIC COPPER COPPER CONCENTRATES ANODIC SLIMEMOLYBDENUM CONCENTRATEROASTED MOLYBDENUM CONCENTRATEELECTROLYTIC TELLURIUM

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

SELENIUMELECTROLYTIC SILVERELECTROLYTIC GOLD PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM CONCENTRATE SULPHURIC ACIDCOPPER WIREROD


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COPPER CATHODESThe cathode brands currently offered through Codelco are:

BRAND NAME

CCC-P

CCC SX-EW

CHUQUI-P

CCC SBL

RT

GABY

AE

AE SX-EW

ENM

ABRA

PRODUCTION UNIT

Chuquicamata Refinery

Oxide Plant

Oxide Plant

SBL Plant

Radomiro Tomic Plant

Gaby Plant

Potrerillos Refinery

Salvador Plant

Ventanas Refinery

El Abra Plant

DIVISION

Chuquicamata

Chuquicamata

Chuquicamata

Chuquicamata

Radomiro Tomic

Minera Gaby

Salvador

Salvador

Ventanas

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PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Electrorefined - Permanent (KIDD

Electrowon - Conventional

Electrowon - Permanent (ISA)


Electrowon - Permanent (KIDD)


Electrorefined - Conventional


Electrorefined - Conventional

Electrowon - Permanent (KIDD)


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Production processesOne reason for Codelco’s worldwide leadership in the production of high purity copper cathodes is its policy of conti-nually improving production processes by implementing leading edge technologies.

The CCC-P, AE and ENM brand commercial cathodes are produced using sulfide ore containing about 0.7% - 1% copper. Crushed and ground ore is concentrated by flotation into 30 percent copper concentrate, which is then smelted to obtain matte consisting of 70 percent copper. This is de-oxidized in converters to form blister copper of 99 percent purity. Further impurities are elimi-nated by fire refining the blister, and the resulting molten metal is cast into anodes of 99.5 percent pure copper. The anodes are finally electro-refined to produce catho-des with a purity level of 99.99 percent copper.

SULFIDE PRODUCTION

Sulfide ores(0.7 - 1% Cu)

CRUSHING &MILLING

FLOTATION

SMELTING

Concentrates(30% Cu)

CONVERTING

Matte(65% Cu)

ANODEREFINING&CASTING

Blister(99% Cu)

ELECTROREFINING

Anodes(99.5% Cu)

Cathodes(99.99% Cu)


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Hydrometallurgical methods are used to produce CCC SX-EW, CHUQUI-P, GABY, AE SX-EW, RT and ABRA brand cathodes from oxide ores containing about 0.3 - 0.6 % copper and CCC SBL cathodes are manufactured from low sulphides ores, grading at about 0.3% copper. In both cases, crushed ore is trea-ted with a mixture of water and sulphuric acid, produ-cing a pregnant leach solution (PLS) containing about 5-6 g/l of copper. This flows to a multi-stage solvent extraction facility, where the metal is extracted from the solution by an organic reagent, reducing the co-pper content of the PLS to around 0.6 g/l, after which it is recycled to continue the leaching process.

OXIDE AND LOW GRADE SULPHIDE PRODUCTION

Meanwhile, the now copper-bearing organic com-pound goes into a circuit containing the spent electro-lyte. The metal is stripped from the organic reagent, upgrading the copper concentration in the electrolyte from about 30 g/l to roughly 45 g/l. This copper-rich electrolyte is re-circulated to the electro-winning plant for final production of copper cathodes of 99.99 per-cent purity.

EXTRATION

Dump or Heap Leach(0.3 - 0.6% Cu)

Raffinate(0.6 g/l Cu)

Pregnant LeachSolution(5 - 6 g/l Cu)

STRIPPING

Loaded Organic

Stripped Organic

PregnantElectrolyte(45 g/l Cu)

ELECTROWINNING

Cathodes(99.99% Cu)

SpentElectrolyte(30 g/l Cu)


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Three processes are used to produce electro-refined and electro-won cathodes. One method is conventional and has two variants: in the case of electro-refined cathodes, brands AE and ENM, copper anodes are dissolved and the metal deposits onto starter cathodes of pure copper, while in electro-won cathodes brand CCC SX-EW, the dissolved metal is obtained from a copper-bearing electrolyte.

ELECTRO-REFINING AND ELECTRO-WINNING PROCESSES


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The two non-conventional methods for electro-refined and electro-won copper cathodes, use permanent cathode technology, known as the ISA and KIDD pro-cesses. They involve depositing dissolved copper from the electrolyte onto reusable stainless-steel ca-thodes blanks. The ISA process leads to two cathodes weighing about 45 - 50 kilograms each; in the KIDD

Chemical qualityCodelco´s copper cathodes have the following typical chemical composition (*):

(*): ppm

technology, each mother blank yields two deposits joined at the bottom, forming a twin cathode weighing in total 80 or 170 kilograms.

The following diagrams indicate the type of technolo-gies utilized for CCC-P, RT, CHUQUI-P, CCC SBL, AE SX-EW, ABRA and GABY brands:

Pb

<3

Bi

< 1

As

<2

Sb

< 1

Sn

<1

Zn

<1

Fe

<5

Ni

< 1

Co

<1

Cr

<1

Cd

<1

Mn

<1

Se

<1

Te

<1

Ag

< 17

S

<9


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Copper cathodes fully meet the standard specifica-tions ASTM B 115-10 designation Grade 1, and EN/BS 1978:1998 designation Cu-CATH-1.

Manufacturers of high-conductivity copper wire rod ob-tain superior yields with Codelco’s copper cathodes, obtaining products with excellent surface finish and

quality, beyond the chemical and physical specifica-tions stipulated in the ASTM B 49-92 and BS 6926:1988 standards.

The CCC-P, CCC SX-EW, CHUQUI-P, CCC SBL, RT, ENM, AE, AE SX-EW and ABRA brands have achieved ISO 9001-2008 certification.

The Chuquicamata´s, Radomiro Tomic and Gaby catho-de brands are transported by truck and rail to the port of Mejillones, meanwhile ABRA cathodes are hauled by rail to Antofagasta port. The Salvador´s cathode brands are transported by train to the port of Barquito, where

Shipmentproducts are trans-shipped to Valparaiso port for final shipment to the clients. Copper cathodes produced by the Ventanas Division are shipped to the markets from Valparaiso and San Antonio ports.

SIZE, WEIGHT AND PACKING

n.a.: Non applicable | (*): Flat/corrugated | (**): Brand name stamped in steel straps

CATHODE BUNDLEDimensions (mm)Dimensions (mm)BRANDS

Length

1,2201,1001,030990

1,0001,000970

1,000960

1,030

Width

925920980980

1,0001,000780

1,000980

1,000

Thickness

188-95-65-6

10-123.5-4.5

134-51412

Weight (kg)

150-19064-7040-42

4670-8038-45

9440-4511570

CCC-PCCC SX-EWCHUQUI-PCCC SBL

RTGABY

AEAE SX-EW

ENMTte SX

Length

1,2401,1301,0401,0001,0101,000990

1,0101,1001,030

Width

930930990

1,0001,0101,000800

1,010980

1,000

Height

390460-500450-550

5605506000600420400330

Straps

2333332222

Seals (**)

333332222

Cathodes

1635585560

55-60306020n.a

Corrugation(*)

3/1n.a.4/24/23/16/1n.a.5/1n.a.n.a.

Weight (kg)

2,400-3,0002,240-2,4502,260-2,450

2,5002,100-2,4002,400-2,800

2,8002,300-2,600

2,3002,000


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ANODIC COPPER - INGOTSEl Teniente Division at the Caletones Smelter produces Anodic Copper in ingots. In 2012 the projected production will be around 100 KTM.

Production processThe manufacture of anodic copper in ingots entails three successive steps:

Mining at El Teniente proceeds by panel caving. In this method, explosives are used to undercut a block of mineral measuring approximately 100 meters wide, 600 meter long and 180 to 600 meters tall and contai-ning more or less 10 million metric tonnes of ore.

The Sewell concentrating facilities receives about 15,000 metric tonnes of ore per day, while the Colón plant processes about 130,000 tonnes daily.

The Sewell concentrating facilities receive about 15000 metric tonnes of ore per day, while the Co-lón plant processes about 130,000 tonnes daily. In-coming ore goes through several crushers that first break it down into chunks of rock and then into pe-bbles approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. Water is subsequently added and the ore is fed into rotating grinding mills, in which tons of steel balls pulverize it to the fineness of sand. This slurry, or pulp, is then mixed with reagents and pumped into flotation cells. Air is injected into the tanks and the pulp is stirred,

The broken rock falls through shafts to haulage levels, from where it is transported to the Sewell and Colón concentrator plants. Mining advances so rapidly at El Teniente that each year about 46 kilometers of new shafts and galleries must be sunk and driven to keep pace with the mining operations.

ORE EXTRACTION

CONCENTRATIONcreating bubbles that attract the reagent-treated mi-neral particles and separate them from the waste rock by floating them to the top of the cells, where a mixed copper-molybdenum froth is created and is skimmed off.

In an ensuing step the molybdenum is recovered se-parately, leaving a copper concentrate of 26% co-pper, with a moisture content of 40 percent. This mois-ture level is later reduced to 9 percent in a thickening and filtering plant.

SMELTING AND REFININGAbout 90% of the concentrates produced at El Tenien-te is cast at Caletones Smelter. The concentrate is pro-cessed in fluidized bed dryers ranging from a high of

9% to a low and final of 0.2% humidity. Then, copper concentrate is injected through pipes to the Teniente Converters. In addition to the injection of concentra-


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Elements

SbAsPbFe

Se+TeNiAgAu

Cu (%)

Concentration (ppm)

100 - 350240 - 1.400

20 - 13020 - 130100 - 350 40 - 200 165 - 1901,2 - 2,3

99.3 - 99.8

IN GOT BUNDLE Dimensions (mm) Dimensions (mm) Length Width Thickness Weight (kg) Length Width Height Straps Seals Pieces Weight (kg) 650 80 75 23 650 670 700 4 4 76 1,720

Quality controlThis product was awarded ISO 9001-2008. Their quali-ty features are further validated through rigorous quality checks, conducted by skilled personnel in the Division’s own laboratories, which are outfitted with the latest test equipment and quality verification systems.

tes, air is added with oxygen content of 37% which con-tributes with for exothermic reactions of iron and sulfur content in concentrate, generating the heat energy to smelt the concentrate. The result of these operations creates a product called “White Metal” with a content of 75% copper and slag of 7% in copper, which it is treated in a Slag Cleaning Furnace.

White Metal is loaded into conventional Peirce-Smith converters and compressed air is blown through tuye-res. In the ensuing reaction, most of the sulphur and iron oxidizes. The blister copper contains 98 percent copper metal.In the last step, the blister copper is fed into tiltable fur-naces. The blister copper refining consists of the elimi-nation of sulfur and impurities through oxidation, direct

volatilization and fluxing. Air for oxidation is added to the liquid bath through pipes . Once the oxidation sta-ge is completed, is added Natural Gas through pipes to reduce the excess Oxygen dissolved in the copper bath. The batch refining process has four stage: blister copper charging, oxidation, reduction and casting as ingots copper, weighing approximately 23 kilograms each.

Finished ingots are strapped at Caletones Smelter and trucked 40 kilometers to the Division’s truck-rail transfer facility in Rancagua, where the ingots bundles are held for individual weighing on class III-certified scales that are calibrated monthly according to OIML standards. The metal is then trans-shipped by rail to San Antonio port and by truck to Valparaiso port.

Chemical quality The typical chemical quality of anodic copper is follows:


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Copper concentrate is produced by El Teniente and Andina Divisions. In the case of Andina Division, the production process is as follows:

The “Rio Blanco” deposit is mined by using under-ground extraction techniques, while the “Sur Sur” and “Don Luis” deposits are open-pit mines. Rio Blanco mine production started up in 1970 producing today more than 26 million tonnes of ore grading 1% copper and 0.02% molybdenum. Sur-Sur and Don Luis ores are extracted using shovels and heavy-duty trucks and are transferred to crushing plants using gravita-tional transfer shafts and then carried along a double transportation belt system (5 kilometers in length) to fine crushing and SAG mills in the concentrator. Here the ore is ground into a fine powder to ensure suffi-cient liberation during flotation. The product of both mill lines, graded at 210 microns, is fed into the flota-tion process.

COPPER CONCENTRATECopper concentrate is produced by El Teniente and Andina Divisions.

Production process

The concentration process affecting the mineral of interest (copper and molybdenum) is carried out wi-thin a traditional alkaline flotation circuit, formed by a rougher flotation stage, milling and cleaning flotation. Flotation takes advantage of sulphur’s tendency to attach itself to bubbles when air is blown through the liquid, thereby separating it from other minerals. The concentrate (27% Cu and 0.5% Mo) obtained through flotation is the end product for this process. The con-centrate then moves to the Molybdenum Plant, where and through a selective flotation process, molybde-num is separated from the copper.

The copper concentrate is filtered and dried to reduce moisture content ranging 8.0 - 9.0 percent producing a final product of about 27 percent copper, which is then loaded into containers and carried by train to the port of Las Ventanas.


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Copper concentrates from Andina and El Teniente are shipped to the markets from Las Ventanas Port.

Shipment

Copper concentrates produced by Codelco have the following typical compositions:

Chemical quality

Dead Weight (Mt)

30,000

Draft (m)

9.52

Length (m)

200

Berth

2

DIVISION

El Teniente

Andina

Cu

(%)

27.0

27.5

Ag

(ppm)

55

75

Au

(ppm)

0.5

0.5

As

(%)

0.15

0.25

Sb

(%)

0.03

0.03

Fe

(%)

27

28

S

(%)

32

34

H2O

(%)

9.0

9.2

Las Ventanas port characteristics are as follows:


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At the Chuquicamata refinery, the crude slime is sto-red as pulp in two thickening tanks where it is decan-ted using flocculants. From there it goes into pulp to conditioning tanks where it is stored until the pulp reaches a density over 1.3 gr/cm3. For the leaching batch, the crude anodic slime is mixed with sulphuric acid and water in an agitated tank, where copper is leached with the addition of oxygen.

This process takes four to five hours and reduces the concentration of insoluble copper in the slime from 40% to less than 1%. Once leaching is completed, it is unloaded by gravity into the flash tank, where water

ANODIC SLIMEAnodic slime is produced by Chuquicamata and Salvador Divisions

Production process

is added to dilute the saturated solution and reduce the temperature from 140 to 80ºC. This pulp is then pumped into filters. Once this process is completed the solid cakes are unloaded onto trays where the operator breaks down the cake to increase the drying surface of the slime. These trays are then loaded into electric drying furnaces in order to reduce average moisture content from 20% to 8%. This slime then goes through Tromell equipment for size diminishing and it is sifted to produce a homogenous content with a - 10 mesh size. Later, the product is packed into metallic drums, which are closed and sealed.


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PackingThis product is packed in 150-kg drums.

ShipmentAnodic slime produced by the Chuquicamata Division is by truck to the port of Antofagasta and Puerto Angamos. The product from the Salvador Division is transported by truck to the port of Mejillones.

Chemical QualityThe typical composition of anodic slimes are as follows:

DIVISION

Chuquicamata

Andina

Au

(%)

0.20-0.35

0.30-0.50

Ag

(ppm)

30-37

12-17

Pt

(ppm)

3-7

3-5

Pd

(ppm)

40-80

20-50

Cu

(%)

0.5-1.2

5-8

Se

(%)

12-16

7-12

As

(%)

1-4

6-11

Sb

(%)

5-10

10-17

H2O

(%)

4-7

4-9


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MOLYBDENUM CONCENTRATEMolybdenum concentrate is produced by Chuquicamata, Salvador, El Teniente and Andina Divisions.

Production processMolybdenum is recovered from the bulk copper-molybdenum concentrate produced during copper flotation, by remo-ving the collector film from the copper minerals, thus liberating molybdenum compounds. Further filtration, re-flotation and cleaning yield molybdenum concentrate.

PackingMolybdenum concentrate high copper is packed in 1.2 metric tonnes sacks and low copper molybdenum concentrate in 1.8 metric tonnes sacks enclosed in shrink wrap.

Chemical qualityMolybdenum concentrates high copper from Chuquicamata and low copper from Andina Divisions have the following typical composition:

Pb (%)

0.05 max.

Cu (%)

4 max.

P (%)

0.05 max.

Mo (%)

48 min.

Chuquicamata Division

Andina Division

Pb (%)

0.05 max.

Cu (%)

0.5 max.

P (%)

0.05 max.

Mo (%)

50 min.


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Roasted molybdenum concentrate in powder high copper is produced by the Chuquicamata´s roasting plant, as well as under toll contract with other conver-ters.

The Chuquicamata´s roasting process consists of tur-ning molybdenum concentrate (molybdenum sulphide) into roasted molybdenum concentrate. Pneumatic de-vices move the molybdenum concentrate into the roas-ting plant, where it is stored in two silos. A screw feeder then feeds it into the roasting furnace.

A 21 feet in diameter multi-hearths roaster, fueled with natural gas and kerosene burners, is used to transform

ROASTED MOLYBDENUM CONCENTRATECodelco markets roasted molybdenum concentrate in powder with high or low copper and car-bon-free briquettes low copper.

Production processthe molybdenite into roasted molybdenum concentrate. The material begins to react around 650°C being dis-charged from the roaster close to 550°C, and then is milled and cooled. The material goes on to a vibrating classifier, with oversized chunks being reduced in a ha-mmer mill, before returning to the classifier.

The final product is stored in seven 20-tonnes capacity silos. From the silos it is moved into the powder packa-ging system, for storage in drums or sacks.

This plant produces about 6,000 fine metric tonnes of roasted molybdenum concentrate high copper in pow-der, per year.


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Chemical qualityRoasted molybdenum concentrates high copper and low copper and carbon-free briquettes low copper have the following chemical specifications:

Cu (%)

3.5 max.

S (%)

0.10 max.

P (%)

0.05 max.

Mo (%)

55 min.

Pb (%)

0.05 max.

Cu (%)

0.50 max.

S (%)

0.10 max.

P (%)

0.05 max.

Mo (%)

57 min.

Pb (%)

0.05 max.

Roasted molybdenum concentrate powder high copper

Roasted molybdenum concentrate powder and briquettes low copper

ShipmentRoasted molybdenum concentrate produced by the Codelco Norte Division is transported by rail to the port of Antofagasta and Puerto Angamos, where it is stuffed into 20 feet containers. Roasted molybdenum concentrate low copper is shipped from San Antonio and Valparaiso ports into 20 feet containers.

PackingRoasted molybdenum concentrate powder high co-pper is packed in 250 kg drums, 1.5 metric tonnes sacks enclosed in shrink wrap and 10-kg Mo cans. Roasted molybdenum concentrate powder low co-pper is packed in 250 kg drums, 1.0 metric tonnes sacks enclosed in shrink wrap and 10-kg Mo cans. Briquettes are packed in 200 kg drums enclosed in shrink wrap.


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ELECTROLYTIC TELLURIUM, SELENIUM, ELECTROLYTIC SILVER-GOLD AND PLATINUM-PALLADIUM CONCENTRATEThese products are obtained at the Precious Metal Plant, Ventanas Division.

Production process

The process starts at this plant with the crude anodic slime in pulp produced in the copper refinery.

This slime, containing about 28 % copper, 0.5 % gold, 18 % silver, 13% selenium, 2% tellurium, and low le-vels of platinum and palladium, is conveyed by piping to the “Precious Metal Plant”, where it is decanted by sedimentation process. The electrolyte is filtered and returned to the copper refinery.

Solid materials obtained from the sedimentation and fil-tering process are batch-leached with sulphuric acid at 120 °C, with the purpose to extract copper. This pulp or de-coppered anodic slime bearing a copper content of 2 a 4% is then filtered. The liquid phase or leaching so-lution is further utilized to recover copper and tellurium.


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The product is packed in 150-kg drums.

Packing

SeleniumThe former de-coppered anodic slime is mixed with sulphuric acid, producing a pulp which is roasted into an electric furnace at 600 ºC. Gases from the roster contain SeO2 and SO2, which are cleaned with water into a scrubber equipment. From this stage, it is ge-nerated selenium metallic in pulp. The pulp is then fil-tered being the solid phase or cake the final product.

Leaching solution, bearing a copper and tellurium concentration of 60 g/l and 4 g/l, respectively, is pum-ped to a precipitator reactor. The reactor is also char-ged with metallic copper, air and water steam to keep a process temperature of 90 ºC. The final precipitate contains a mix of copper and tellurium, which is fur-ther filtered to remove the rest of the liquid phase.

The copper – tellurium precipitate is dried and oxidi-zed with NaOH to get tellurium dioxide. This product is then leached, a new precipitate containing mainly tellurium is produced, which it is finally filtered. The solid phase or cake is further leached with a solution of NaOH and the resulting solution is pumped to the electro-winning cells to get electrolytic tellurium.

Electrolytic tellurium


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Electrolytic silverThe de-coppered anodic slime now low in selenium is mixed with charcoal and melting fluxes. The mix is fed into a Trof furnace to produce dore bullion. The slag ob-tained at this stage is re-circulated to the copper smel-ting plant. A second melting process continues with the addition of oxygen to remove the rest of selenium and tellurium. These elements remains with the second slag named oxidation slag, which is re-processed into the Trof furnace to recover the rest of gold and silver.

Finally, molten dore bullion is removed from the Trof furnace, poured into mould and cast as anodes of 8.5 kilograms each. Dore bullion has a typical composition

of 93 – 96% silver, 2 – 5% gold, 0.8 – 1.6% copper and traces of palladium and platinum.

Silver is recovered using an electro-refining technique known as the “Moebius” process. Anodes of dore bu-llion are put into poly-propylene bags which are insta-lled into electrolytic cells. Titanium cathodes and a mix of silver nitrate and nitric acid are utilized as electrolyte. When an electric current is applied, anodes of dore bu-llion are gradually dissolved, while the metallic ion of silver migrates and plates the cathodes. Finally, electro-lytic silver recovered from cathodes is melted and cast in granular form.

Chemical quality

Electrolytic silver in granular form, contains a minimum of 99.99 percent silver.

Packing

The product is packed in cardboard box of 25 kilo-grams net.


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Chemical qualityElectrolytic gold bar contains a minimum of 99.99 percent gold.

Electrolytic gold

Gold slime retained into poly-propylene bags, is sub-sequently leached with a solution of sulphuric acid to remove the rest of silver, platinum and palladium.

Gold is recovered using an electro-refining technique known as the “Wohlwil” process. Gold slime free of silver, platinum and palladium is melted and cast into anodes of 1.8 kilograms each. Gold anodes are char-ged into electrolytic cells, with titanium cathodes and a solution of hydrochloric acid as electrolyte. When an electric current is applied, gold anodes are gradually dissolved while the metallic ion of gold migrates and plates the cathodes. Finally, electrolytic gold recove-red from cathodes is melted and cast into bars of 12.5 kilograms net.

Platinum - Palladium concentrateThe solutions bearing platinum and palladium are treated with metallic zinc, in order to get the final Pt - Pd precipitate or concentrate.

PackingTwo gold bars are packed in wooden box of 25 kilo-grams net.


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In the case of El Teniente’s Caletones smelter, gases first enter the cleaning system through Sulphuric Acid Plants, where impurities are removed. The purified gas then moves into a drying tower full of porcelain forms to ensure good contact between the gas current moving up the tower and the 96.5% sulphuric acid current mo-ving down it. This process ensures that all the moisture in the gas is absorbed by the sulphuric acid. The gas then moves through plant blowers, which suck up the gas from the smelter’s smelting machinery, generating

SULPHURIC ACIDSulphuric acid is recovered from gas treatment and cleaning plant at copper smelters in Chuquicamata, Salvador, El Teniente and Ventanas Divisions.

Production processa gas flow of 360,000 to 450,000 m3N/hr, with an SO2 content of 8-9%. This gas is subsequently processed in two plants.

The purified, dry gas is then ready for the contact unit, where the SO2-rich gas is converted into SO3-rich gas in a converter equipped with a catalyst (vanadium pen-toxide), at an internal temperature of over 400 ºC and a suitable O2/SO2 ratio to ensure the conversion.


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ShipmentSulphuric acid produced by the Codelco´s Divisions is shipped from the following ports and terminals:

Division

El Teniente

Ventanas

Salvador

Port

San Antonio

Las Ventanas

Barquito

Terminal

Terquim

Las Ventanas

Barquito

Chemical quality Codelco supplies clear sulphuric acid, with the following specification:

Cr (ppm)

1 max.

Ni (ppm)

3 max.

Cd (ppm)

0.1 max.

Hg (ppm)

1 max.

Turbidity (NTU)

30 max.

Pb (ppm)

0.5 max.

Fe (ppm)

30 max.

As (ppm)

1 max.

H2SO4 (%)

96 - 98.5

The SO3-rich gas that emerges from the converter, enters to the absorption tower, full of porcelain forms to ensure good contact between the current of gas moving up the tower and the 98.5% sulphuric acid current moving down it. The existing gas in the tower absorbs the SO3 from the gas, increasing its concen-tration. Because the acid concentration in the tower must be kept at 98.5%, water is used in this process.

Thus, a mixture containing 98.5% sulphuric acid forms in the tower’s receiving tank, with plant produc-tion reaching up 3,300 tonnes per day at present.

Through this process, the El Teniente´s plants reco-ver about 91% of the total sulphur fed to the copper smelter.


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COPPER WIRERODIn 1983 Codelco created its Codelco Kupferhandel GmbH (CK) subsidiary in Germany. Through CK, Codelco holds 40% preferred shares in the Deutsche Giessdraht GmbH (D.G.) wirerod mill.

Codelco Kupferhandel GmbH, wholly owned by Codelco, sells wirerod mainly in Central Europe through its own agency, CK Metall Agentur GmbH.Deutsche Giessdraht GmbH is located in Emmerich, Germany and operates a Southwire continuous-casting wirerod mill with an output capacity of 300,000 metric tonnes per year.

Commitment to environment protection is shown by the ISO 14001: 2004 Certificate.

Finished wirerod conforms to the standard specification DIN EN 1977:1998, ASTM B 49-98 and is rigorously tes-ted to asses the physical and chemical characteristics.

These tests and ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Assurance pro-cedures guarantee consistently high quality products.

Copper cathodes are melted in a shaft furnace, then molten copper is transferred to a casting wheel to pro-duce a copper bar (see picture next page). Thirteen ro-lling stages (vertical and horizontal) ensure the optimal roundness of the wirerod; pickling, scrubbing result in a virtually oxide-free surface, and waxing finally protects it against oxidation.

Production process

Specifications and Quality Control

Environment


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E. Coil height (app.)

3,5 Mt 4,2 Mt 5 Mt 6,2 Mt

1600 x 1600 650 mm 720 mm 820 mm -

1800 x 1800 470 mm 520 mm 620 mm 760 mm

A. Diameter 8 mm, 10mm, 13mm, 16mm

B. Surface smooth 8 mm, 10mm, 13mm, 16mm rough 8 mm

C. Coil characteristic Weight [Mt] 3,5 4,2 5,0 6,2 Pallet width [mm] 1600 x 1600 1800 x 1800

D. Available combinations

3,5 Mt 4,2 Mt 5 Mt 6,2 Mt

8mmG 1600/1800 1600/1800 1600/1800 1800

8mmR 1600/1800 1600/1800 1600/1800 1800

10mm 1600/1800 - 1800 -

13mm 1600/1800 - - -

16mm 1600/1800 - - -

General featuresThis product has the following features:

Additional height of pallet: 155 mm


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F. PackagingTied on wooden pallets on four sides with polyethylene straps (19mm wide) and protected by polye-thylene shrink foil.

G. Quality Inspectionsa. Continuous Eddy Current and Ferromat inspection.

b. Twist test :Twenty turns forth and back.Clamped length for ø 8mm = 25 d, for ø 10 – 16 mm = 30 dClassification by comparison to reference samples.

c. Surface defectsClassification by comparison to reference samples.Defectomat inspection

d. Residual surface oxide film thickness

e. Reverse Twist to failure: 25 turns forth, then back to failure Number of turns back are counted.Clamped length for ø 8mm = 25 d, for ø 10 – 16 mm = 30 d

g. Oxygen content; typical 120 ppm – 400 ppm

h. Electrical conductivity, min. 58,6 mS/mm² or 101 % IACS

i. ISO Spiral Elongation Number (Cold spiral)

j. Chemical analyses by Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES)

I. Standardsa. EN 1977b. ASTM B 49-92


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