Mitsui Mining & Smelting Mulls Restart of Palca Zinc Mine

Mitsui Mining & Smelting started study to restart operation of Palca zinc mine of Peru. The firm stopped the ore production at the mine in end of 2008 when international zinc price plunged but the firm started the preparation for the restart under higher market price. The firm will decide the restart depending on the better price outlook.

Palca is located in Andes mountains with 3,800-5,000 meters of altitude, which is around 400 kilometers north of Lima. Compa??a Minera Santa Luisa, of which Mitsui Mining & Smelting controls 70%, operates the mine. The operation company also operates Huanzal? zinc mine, which is around 40 kilometers north of Palca mine, and treats the ore from Palca mine at facilities in Huanzal? mine.

Huanzal?’s plant treats 1,600 tonnes of ore per day, in which 500 tonnes of ore is from Palca. Huanzal? mine produced around 83,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate with 48.8% of zinc in 2008. The concentrate represents around 20% of the annual 230,000 tonnes of zinc ingot production.

However, Mitsui Mining & Smelting stopped the Palca mining in end 2008 to save the transportation cost to Huanzal? while the firm increased the ore production from 1,100 tonnes per day to 1,600 tonnes at Huanzal? to secure the concentrate.