In December, Vale inaugurated the Tres Valles copper plant, its first project in Chile. Located in Salamanca, the plant, whose annual production capacity is 18,500 tons of copper cathode (metal plate), is Vale’s first industrial-scale cathode plant using a hydrometallurgical process. Total investment in implementing the project was US$140 million.
Tres Valles is a landmark project in Chile in terms of implementation efficiency, setting a record for speed between licensing and the start of operations. This is just the beginning for Vale’s investment in Chile, since all of the revenue generated from the venture will be reinvested in new mineral exploration in the country’s Andean region.
The Tres Valles plant has two mines: Don Gabriel, an open-pit mine, and Papomono, an underground one. Job opportunities have been created for local residents, in order to contribute to the development of the communities of Salamanca and Illapel and the province of Choapa. In all, around 1,800 direct and indirect jobs were created during the implementation phase.