LATIN AMERICAN SPECIAL — Low-cost Escondida output

The cash cost of the expanding Escondida mine in Chile is in the mid-US40 cents per lb. range.

Analysts for T. Hoare & Co. of London, in a recent report, estimate the above production cost for the project, where a concentrator is being expanded and the use of low-cost ammonia-based leaching (as an alternative to conventional smelting) is being introduced.

The ongoing US$202-million expansion program will see output rise to 480,000 tonnes copper per year by the end of 1994.

The major shareholders of Escondida are BHP with a 57.5% interest and RTZ with 30%.