-- Rio2 (RIO.TO) on Wednesday announced commencement of the commissioning phase for the new Tailings Filtration Facility (TFF) at its newly acquired Condestable Copper Mine in Peru.
The company said that the transition to dry-stack tailings provided by the new TFF represents a "major operational milestone," following an 18-month construction period and a total capital investment of approximately US$27 million.
It further said that the facility features an installed design capacity of 8,400 tonnes per day (tpd), capable of processing 100% of Condestable's current tailings output and has been engineered to accommodate potential future production expansions.
The company added that, commissioning is expected to conclude within 10 weeks, with full commercial operations slated for the third quarter, 2026.
"Filtered dry tailings output from the TFF will initially be deposited within the existing, permitted, tailings impoundment facilities before transitioning to Tailings Storage Facility #6," said the company. "The TFF is currently in the advanced stages of the permitting process, with environmental approval expected during the third quarter of 2026."
The company further stated that initial permitted capacity for Facility #6 is expected to be 43 million tonnes, with the design allowing for staged expansions of up to a total of 170 million tonnes to support future extensions to the life of the mine.
"We are very happy about this important step at Condestable," said Andrew Cox, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rio2. "The operating team's commitment to the highest environmental and safety standards has been impressive and the beginning of the commissioning phase of the filter plant is strong evidence of this effort. It is also an important step for the next stage of growth at the mine, which we at Rio2 will be excited to unveil before the end of this year."