First Quantum's February 2026 report for the Taca Taca porphyry in Salta Province, Argentina, plans a 40 Mtpa flotation plant with HIG regrinding, column cleaning and copper-molybdenum separation. Copper concentrate goes by rail to a port in Chile.
The Taca Taca Project, Salta Province, Argentina, NI 43-101 Technical Report, was prepared by qualified persons of FQM (Australia) with an effective date of 31 December 2025 and is dated February 2026. Early testwork by Lumina found that acid leaching gave low copper recoveries even at 75 µm, so all later work focused on flotation. FQM testwork at ALS confirmed reasonable flotation recoveries across the mining domains. Leaching of flotation tails was not tested and is not included in the design. About 56 Mt of gold-bearing oxide cap at 0.41 g/t Au will be mined during pre-strip and stockpiled for future testwork. Cyanide leach tests on that material gave about 40% recovery at a 12 mm crush and 90% at 80% passing 75 µm.
Critical Data
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report effective date | 31 December 2025 | Not applicable | First Quantum Minerals Ltd |
| Stage 1 throughput | 40 Mtpa (120,000 t/d, 5,000 t/h) | Not applicable | 91.3% availability, 8,000 h/a |
| Primary crushers | Two Metso MK-III 60-89 gyratories | Not applicable | P80 112 mm; 290 t trucks |
| SAG mills | 12.19 m x 8.2 m EGL, 28 MW gearless | Not applicable | One per 2,500 t/h milling train |
| Ball mills | 8.53 m x 13.25 m EGL, 22 MW gearless | Not applicable | Same as the Sentinel mine ball mills |
| Grind size | P80 about 180 µm | Not applicable | Flotation feed at 30 to 35% solids |
| Rougher flotation | Two trains of six 500 m³ cells | Not applicable | About 10% mass pull |
| Regrind | Three Metso HIG5000 mills, about 12 MW | Not applicable | P80 160 µm to 20 µm |
| Cleaning | Conventional cells, Concorde cell and 4.5 x 14 m columns | Not applicable | Four-stage bulk cleaner circuit |
| Copper concentrate (LOM) | About 620,000 wet t/a at 25.7% Cu | Not applicable | About 2,050 kg/a of gold |
| Molybdenum concentrate (LOM) | About 5,100 wet t/a at 47% Mo | Not applicable | Five-stage cleaning plus columns |
| Tailings | Thickened to 70% solids, repulped with brine to 65% | Not applicable | Pumped to the TSF |
Overview
Ore is crushed in two gyratory crushers at the pit rim and conveyed overland to a coarse ore stockpile with eight hours of live capacity. Two milling trains each have a SAG mill with pebble crushing and a ball mill closed with hydrocyclones. Cyclone overflow feeds two rougher-scavenger trains. Most rougher concentrate is thickened and reground in HIG mills, then cleaned in a single four-stage circuit to a bulk copper-molybdenum concentrate. Molybdenite is floated off in a differential circuit with the copper minerals depressed, so the molybdenum circuit tails are the copper concentrate. Copper concentrate is thickened, filtered and railed to Chile. Molybdenum concentrate is filtered, dried and bagged. Flotation tails are thickened to high density for water recovery, repulped with brine and pumped to the tailings storage facility (TSF).
Key Process Stages
Primary crushing. Each enclosed dump pocket holds 435 t and takes trucks from two sides. Dust suppression switches on automatically, and a rock breaker deals with oversize. The crushers run at a 165 mm open side setting, nominally 17 hours a day. A long-term ore stockpile west of the pit reaches 204 Mt in Year 38. A mineralized waste stockpile of up to 362 Mt is reclaimed at up to 40 Mtpa between Years 46 and 54.
Grinding. Three apron feeders per tunnel deliver 2,500 t/h net to each SAG mill. The actual feed is 10 to 20% higher because of recycled pebbles and moisture. SAG mills have 50 or 60 mm grates, a trommel and a vibrating screen. Each circuit has two Metso MP 1250 pebble crushers at a closed side setting below 16 mm, with about 1,600 t/h capacity, about 30% of mill feed. Lime is added at the SAG feed chute.
Rougher flotation. Each train has a conditioning tank and six 500 m³ cells. Concentrate from the first cell goes directly to the coarse cleaner. The remaining cells' concentrate goes to two 50 m conventional thickeners without flocculant, which could affect flotation, ahead of regrind.
Regrind and cleaning. Three 4 MW HIG mills regrind the rougher concentrate to 20 to 30 µm to liberate the fine-grained copper minerals. A Metso Concorde CD5500 cell and two 4.5 m by 14 m columns form the coarse cleaner line. The main cleaner circuit has nine 70 m³ first cleaner cells and five 70 m³ second cleaner cells. Two more 4.5 m by 14 m columns form the third cleaner stage, with wash water sprays on the final columns.
Copper-molybdenum separation. The bulk concentrate is floated in 42.5 m³ U-shaped rougher-scavenger cells. NaHS depresses the copper minerals. The molybdenum concentrate is cleaned in five conventional stages and two columns. The molybdenum circuit may be built several months after the main concentrator to reduce initial capital and complexity.
Concentrate dewatering. A 30 m high-rate thickener produces about 65% solids underflow. Two surge tanks at the rail loadout give about 24 hours. Three automatic Larox pressure filters are sized for up to 193 t/h of dry concentrate at 76% utilization.
Water and tailings. Process water comes from the tailings and rougher concentrate thickener overflows, held in a 15,000 m³ tank (about one hour of demand), with make-up from fresh or brackish borefields. Repulping the thickened tailings to 65% solids needs about 541 t/h of brine if no decant water is returned from the TSF.
Additional Interesting Data and Summary
At peak production, in Years 7 to 10, the plant would make about 1,179,100 t a year of copper concentrate at 26.1% Cu, 6,160 t a year of molybdenum concentrate at 47% Mo and about 3,570 kg of gold. All conveyors would be covered and fitted with water sprays because of high winds at the site. The report notes that the unflocculated rougher concentrate thickeners will be revisited during preliminary engineering.
In summary, the 2026 Taca Taca report is a 40 Mtpa twin-train SAG-ball porphyry copper concentrator. It has HIG regrinding to 20 to 30 µm, column cleaning and optional molybdenum separation, and uses brine to transport high-density tailings in a water-scarce setting.
Key Processes
- Gyratory crushing and coarse ore stockpiling
- SAG milling with pebble crushing and ball milling to P80 about 180 µm
- Rougher-scavenger flotation in 500 m³ cells
- Rougher concentrate thickening and HIG mill regrinding
- Bulk cleaner flotation with Concorde cells and columns
- Copper-molybdenum differential flotation
- Concentrate thickening, pressure filtration and rail loadout
- Molybdenum concentrate drying and bagging
- High-density tailings thickening and brine repulping
Source: Taca Taca Project, Salta Province, Argentina, NI 43-101 Technical Report, First Quantum Minerals Ltd, effective date 31 December 2025.
Earlier report summaries
Earlier versions of this profile, based on older technical reports, are retained below for source traceability. Dates and figures reflect each report’s own effective date and are superseded by the current information above.
Taca Taca Project — NI 43-101 Technical Report
This article outlines the proposed processing route for the Taca Taca copper-molybdenum project, based on the NI 43-101 technical report, covering comminution, flotation, and concentrate handling.
Report context
The Taca Taca Project, as described in the NI 43-101 Technical Report, involves a conventional porphyry copper-molybdenum concentrator design. The report presents a processing flowsheet intended for an ultimate throughput of 60 Mtpa, with a phased approach to accommodate an initial 40 Mtpa. The processing strategy is designed to treat both supergene (plus mixed) and hypogene (sulphide) primary ores, where primary ores contain more than 50% of copper as chalcopyrite. The report also addresses site-specific considerations for plant location due to prevailing winds and the use of saline water in flotation circuits.
Processing route
Ore feed and flotation approach
The processing feed at Taca Taca is proposed to be a blend of supergene (plus mixed) and hypogene (sulphide) primary ores. Primary ores are defined as containing more than 50% of the copper present as chalcopyrite, meaning significant amounts of secondary sulphides and tarnished minerals could be present. The preferred process route follows conventional porphyry copper-molybdenum concentrators common in South America, but includes a sulphidising flotation circuit using sodium hydrosulphide (NaHS) for oxidised and tarnished minerals. When treating primary ores with low acid soluble copper, the same circuit will be used, but NaHS addition would be switched off.
A gold recovery circuit is not proposed for the auriferous oxide cap during the pre-strip phase of mine development. This material would be stockpiled separately and subjected to future testwork to determine processing options. Flowsheet design and equipment selection are based on experience at recent concentrator installations in Zambia (Sentinel at 55 Mtpa) and Panamá (Cobre Panamá at 100 Mtpa). Rougher flotation can be operated in brine, but testwork indicates that acceptable recoveries and concentrate grades in the cleaner circuit require good quality water.
Plant location
The processing plant site is shielded from prevailing winds from the north west, which can reach speeds up to 23.2 m/s (83.5 km/h). From the east, the plant would be partially shielded by topography and the waste dump on the salar. Milling and flotation areas would be shielded with sheeting on two sides and roofs, or wind barriers on the north and west sides. Wind barriers are also required on thickeners to reduce wave action. The crushed ore stockpile would be covered, and conveyors would have removable covers and dust suppression sprays. Administration offices and other infrastructure are proposed upwind of the pit and plant area.
Comminution circuit
The processing plant would be designed for an annual throughput up to 180,000 tpd (60 Mtpa). The comminution circuit would be a conventional SABC (SAG, ball, crusher) configuration, with secondary crushing of SAG mill feed required to increase throughput from 40 to 60 Mtpa. The grinding circuit would consist of two trains, each of 30 Mtpa capacity, designed to treat 3,750 tph from a feed size of 80% passing 130 mm to a product size of 80% passing about 180 µm.
Each train would comprise a 28 MW SAG mill and two 22 MW ball mills. Key comminution criteria include a crusher work index of 8.0 kWh/t, a JK parameter A*b of 44.9, a rod mill work index of 14.0 kWh/t, a Bond ball mill work index of 15.6 kWh/t, and an abrasion index of 0.18 g. A gravity recovery circuit would be installed on ball mill cyclone underflow for coarse gold recovery, and pebble crushing would handle scats from the SAG mills using two MP 1250 crushers.
Flotation circuit
Rougher and scavenger flotation would treat cyclone overflow slurry with controlled sulphidisation flotation using NaHS for oxidised and tarnished supergene ores. For 60 Mtpa, two parallel circuits would be installed, each with a single train of seven 600 m³ flotation cells, providing approximately 25 minutes residence time. For the initial 40 Mtpa, one circuit with nine cells would provide sufficient residence time. Rougher concentrates would be thickened prior to regrind and diluted with fresh water for cleaning to produce a bulk Cu-Mo concentrate. Copper-molybdenum separation would be achieved in a molybdenum flotation circuit with five to seven stages of cleaning.
Concentrate handling
Flotation concentrates would be dewatered prior to off-site processing. Copper concentrates would be thickened and filtered, then shipped in bulk by rail to a coastal port in Chile. Molybdenum concentrates would be filtered, dried, and bagged for transport. Thickening of rougher flotation tails would occur in three 50 m diameter thickeners, with thickened underflow pumped to a tailings storage facility (TSF) and decant water reclaimed for process use, though climatic conditions may limit decant return.
Key reported parameters
| Parameter | Units | Design/Actual/Testwork Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Annual treatment rate | Mtpa / dry tpd | 60 / 180,000 (design) |
| Crusher utilisation / throughput | % / dry tph | 70 / 10,800 (design) |
| Mill & flotation utilisation / throughput | % / dry tph | 91.3 / 7,500 (design) |
| Ore head grades (average) | % Cu / ppm Mo / ppm Au | 0.44 / 121.4 / 0.09 (design) |
| Recoveries to final concentrates (average) | Cu % / Mo % / Au % | 85.0 / 40.0 / 60.0 (design) |
| Annual production (average) | Cu t / Mo t / Au kg | 224,400 / 2,914 / 3,030 (design) |
| Copper concentrate grade / production | % Cu / wet tpa | 25.3 / 985,500 (design) |
| Molybdenum concentrate grade / production | % Mo / tpa | 47 / 6,200 (design) |
| Primary grind size | P80 µm | 180 (design) |
| Regrind size | P80 µm | 20 to 30 (design) |
| Mass recovery to rougher concentrate | % / dry tph | 20 / 1,500 (design) |
| Crusher work index (CWi) | kWh/t | 8.0 (testwork) |
| JK parameter A*b | – | 44.9 (testwork) |
| Rod mill work index (RWi) | kWh/t | 14.0 (testwork) |
| Bond ball mill work index (BWi) | kWh/t | 15.6 (testwork) |
| Abrasion index (Ai) | g | 0.18 (testwork) |
Project website: https://www.first-quantum.com/operations/taca-taca/
Technical qualifications
The design criteria and grades/recoveries represent average figures for mine life; year-on-year recoveries and grades will vary. The report notes that options for staging plant construction from 40 to 60 Mtpa have not been evaluated in detail. The gold oxide cap material is not included in the processing circuit and requires further testwork. Climatic conditions, including very dry, constant winds and high solar radiation, may limit the amount of decant water returned from the TSF. The process design is based on testwork data for grindability and flotation, with acceptable cleaner performance dependent on good quality water.
Source: Taca Taca Project , NI 43-101 Technical Report, Item 17 Recovery Methods.
