en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ausenco has proposed a compact processing plant solution aimed at addressing the challenges of rising costs and declining ore grades in Chile's mining industry. Its developed projects, such as Mantoverde, have already demonstrated significant capital efficiency advantages.

In the South American mining sector, rising costs and declining ore grades are driving the industry to reassess investment models. Patricio Muñoz, Vice President of Commissioning for South America at Ausenco, stated that the average grade of many deposits is currently below 0.4%, making it difficult for traditional investment models to sustain project profitability. The company's proposed compact, cost-efficient processing plant solution aims to reduce capital intensity and maximize project value.

Ausenco's Constancia and Mina Justa projects in Peru, as well as the Mantoverde project in Chile, have achieved capital efficiency levels close to $12,000 per tonne of annual copper equivalent, compared to approximately $20,000 or more for many traditional projects. The company believes that cost-efficient processing plants are a concrete solution for transforming mineral resources into profitable projects.

The rationale behind the solution is that approximately two-thirds of a processing plant's costs come from civil works, earthworks, structures, and wiring, with equipment accounting for only about one-third of the investment. Therefore, reducing the plant footprint has a direct impact on project competitiveness. Compared to traditional designs, compact processing plants can significantly reduce the required footprint, yielding benefits in CAPEX, construction timelines, safety, and carbon footprint. Muñoz emphasized that overall optimization of compact processing plants can reduce the footprint by up to 35%.

The first concrete manifestation of this model in Chile is the Mantoverde processing plant, developed by Ausenco for Capstone Copper. The plant achieved copper production of 62,308 tonnes in 2025, a 65% increase year-over-year. The project was delivered within the committed timeline, with an investment of approximately $570 million for the processing plant portion, which began production immediately after commissioning.