Largest copper mine this century planned in Tibet

Production from the Julong copper mine in Tibet is to be expanded from 150,000t a day to 350,000t, reports the Zijin Mining Group.

The copper mine is expected to exceed 100Mt, Zijin says, making it the largest in China in terms of mining and processing scale, and the largest standalone copper mine to be activated this century.

The Chinese mining company expects to complete construction and commence production by the end of 2025. 

Zijin reports that open-pit mining will be adopted and the service-life of the mine is expected to be 36 years. Subsidiary, Tibet Julong Copper, plans to self-finance the estimated required investment of ~£1.91bln.

The group reports that the molybdenum ouput is also expected to increase, from 5,000t to 13,000t. 

The company says that a phase 3 will also be planned in the future, and there is potential for this copper mine to process approximately 200Mt annually, which would make it the largest standalone copper mine in the world.