SANTIAGO, July 4 (Reuters) - Chile's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, said on Monday that it will invest $180 million to revamp an older concentrator plant with processing capacity of some 100,000 tonnes per day.
Escondida has three concentrators, and once all of them are up and running, the mine expects to produce around 1.2 million tonnes of copper annually for the next decade. The mine, nestled high in Chile's arid Atacama desert, produced 1.15 million tonnes in 2015.
Operation of the Los Colorados concentrator was suspended earlier this year.
"With the extension of the Los Colorados plant, Escondida will have all the necessary elements to fully take advantage of its mineral resources in a sustainable manner," said Hilmar Rode, the mine's president.
BHP Billiton BLT.L BHP.AX controls Escondida with a 57.5 percent stake, while Rio Tinto RIO.L RIO.AX owns 30 percent.