Capstone Copper (TSX: CS) (ASX: CSC) has secured environmental approval from authorities in Chile’s Atacama region for its $150-million Mantoverde Optimized (MV-O) project.
The green light extends the mine’s life from 19 to 25 years and marks a key step in Capstone’s broader plans to create a major copper-cobalt district in northern Chile.
The permit, granted as part of a national evaluation led by Chile’s environmental review agency SEA, paves the way for increased production at the Mantoverde mine. Once MV-O is operational, annual copper equivalent output is expected to rise to 125,000–135,000 tonnes, up from the current 97,000–112,000 tonnes.
The expansion will also boost concentrator throughput from 32,000 to 45,000 tonnes per day and add roughly 20,000 tonnes of copper per year.
President and chief executive officer Cashel Meagher said the MV-O project, combined with the nearby…
