Ningbo Jintian Copper (Group) Co., Ltd.
Ningbo Jintian Copper (Group) Co., Ltd.

Vale Restarts Salobo Copper Mine After Fire

Processing plant operations resumed on Friday and the ramp-up of copper concentrates production was expected today, Vale said.

It was still investigating the causes of the fire which had partially affected the conveyor.

Salobo had produced 172,700t of copper concentrate last year, and 38,000t of Vale’s 69,200t for the September quarter.

Vale estimated an impact of about 8,000t on production, which it said was already incorporated into production estimates for the fourth quarter.

It had last week trimmed full-year copper production guidance from 360,000-380,000 to 295,000-300,000t due to issues including the Salobo fire and an earlier strike at Sudbury in Canada.

Copper supply constraints saw the spot price reach a record high of US$11,299.50/t on the London Metal Exchange last week.