According to the World Energy Trade report, the Cobre Panamá mine of First Quantum Minerals ranks among the top ten largest mines in the world in terms of tons of mineral extracted. It is estimated that by the third quarter of 2021, this mine will produce around 96.24 million tons of copper, silver, gold, and molybdenum ore, according to data reported by the Vancouver-based company. The Cobre Panamá mine, located in Costa Abajo de Colón in the districts of Donoso and Omar Torrijos Herrera, began operating in 2019 and contributes 3.5% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Currently, the Cobre Panamá mine is in the process of negotiation with the National Government to obtain a new concession contract, despite facing opposition from some environmental and community groups due to government policies promoting open-pit metallic mining. The list compiled by Miningintelligence highlights ten companies, mainly of large or medium size, and eight of them are among the top 50 mining companies worldwide. The first position on the list is held by the Escondida copper mine, owned by BHP, recognized as the largest mine in the world in its sector and belonging to the largest mining company globally.
According to the list, Rio Tinto, the second-largest mining company in the world, holds a 30% stake in the mine, which has an average production of 360,000 tons per day. Based on production figures for the first three quarters, it is estimated that Escondida will extract 130.78 million tons of copper, silver, and gold ore in 2021. In the second place is the Collahuasi mine, a joint venture of Anglo American and Glencore, also located in Chile. It is projected to extract 104.65 million tons of copper, gold, and silver ore this year, a significant increase compared to the 71.9 million tons extracted in 2020.
In the fourth position of the ranking is the Buenavista mine of Southern Copper in Mexico, the world’s largest silver producer. According to the report, Southern Copper invested around 1 billion dollars in the expansion of its main copper, molybdenum, zinc, and silver mine. On the other hand, in the fifth place is the Las Bambas mine of MMG in Peru, with a forecast of extracting 65.26 million tons of copper, silver, gold, and molybdenum ore for 2021. During this year, the mine has faced opposition from the community, which blocked a key transportation route, although the blockade was later lifted after a meeting with Prime Minister Mirtha Vásquez.
In the sixth position is the Sentinel copper and nickel mine of First Quantum Minerals in Zambia. According to the report, the company has discarded its plans to sell a stake in its copper mines in Zambia, and Sentinel is expected to extract 56.69 million tons of ore this year. The Aktogay mine of copper, silver, gold, and molybdenum of Kaz Minerals occupies the seventh place, with a projected extraction of 53.6 million tons of ore in 2021. The Paracatu mine of Kinross Gold in Brazil ranks eighth, with an estimated extraction of 52.46 million tons of ore this year.
The ninth place is occupied by the Antamina mine of copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and silver of BHP and Glencore in Peru, with a figure very close to 52.45 million tons of ore extracted. Finally, in the tenth place is the Los Bronces copper and molybdenum mine of Anglo American in Chile, with a projected extraction of 43.64 million tons of ore in 2021. COBRE PANAMA, MINERIA COBRE; FIRST QUANTUM COBRE PANAMA, MINERIA COBRE; FIRST QUANTUM COBRE PANAMA, MINERIA COBRE; FIRST QUANTUM
