At its Tucuma copper project in the Brazilian state of Para, Canadian copper producer Ero Copper has completed 70% of the project. Work on the project, which began last year, has cost the copper producing company close to $305 million.
According to the company, all of the project’s engineering activities are moving smoothly. Additionally, procurement and construction (EPC) activities are also ongoing. This is in order for copper production to begin in the second half of the coming year.
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Mine pre-stripping, along with other related activities, is advanced. The completion of all ground works, including run of mine stock piles, site drainage, and the water storage reservoir, is also done.
About 65% of the project’s concrete construction, or all of the project’s crucial foundations, had been carried out.
Key processing pieces, including flotation cells, vibrating screen decks, secondary and tertiary crushers, ball mills, as well as primary crushers, have been delivered to the site.
According to the company, its installation is either completed or in progress.
The site has been fitted with power equipment, such as a primary e-room and main substation. They are now installing about 16 KM of new power lines. In the last quarter of this year, it is expected to be connected to the national grid.
Platework, plumbing, as well as electrical cabling are among the other works that have started ahead of schedule. 1,750 employees and party contractors have been working on all of these tasks.
The CEO of Ero Copper, David Strang, expressed his gratitude to approximately 1,750 or so employees for their outstanding efforts to date. He particularly commended those who worked tirelessly for over two million hours of work with no lost time injury.
The Tucuma copper project’s completion rate
He stated that they have no doubt that a significant inflection point for the project has been attained. This is because over 70% of the physical work has been completed. Additionally, important infrastructural pieces are in place or near completion, and primary equipment installations are going as planned.
Their attention on site now shifts to the installation of instrumentation, piping, and electrical systems as they continue to reach their construction milestones. This is an exciting phase of any project. Their main aim is to carry out the first part of the commissioning schedule before the end of the year in order to ensure a smooth ramp up and the start of commercial production in the second half of 2024.
