The management of Empresa Minera Huanuni (EMH), Bolivia’s largest tin mine, will shortly begin purchasing equipment for a major mill expansion and are also hoping to expand the mine’s life. Huanuni produced 4,936 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate in the first half of this year and is expected to increase its output to over 10,000 tonnes this year.
EMH is getting ready to purchase the machinery that will be used for the expansion of its tin complex, general manager Marcelino Quispe told BNamericas.”We need to buy crushers, grinders and concentrating tables because we are going to build the plant ourselves,” he said. The US$50 million project will increase ore treatment capacity to 3,000 tpd. EMH will begin contacting companies interested in supplying the equipment imminently.
Quispe also told BNAmericas: “We are going to carry out exploration works to extend the mine’s lifespan by another 15 years.” Technicians are rehabilitating some levels of the mine to expand the exploration area, he added. In 2008, the company reported that the mine contains a total of measured, indicated and inferred resources in hard rock of 8.2Mt and proven and probable reserves of 3.6Mt with a tin grade of 2.55%. The surface resources include 21.2Mm3 with tin content of 0.35lb/m3.
