CDB provides $35 million loan for construction of lime plant and electricity supply for Toromocho Project (Linked to Record ID#56098 and #36064)

CDB provides $35 million loan for construction of lime plant and electricity supply for Toromocho Project On December 25, 2012, Minera Chinalco Perú S.A. ('Chinalco Peru') — a special purpose vehicle and wholly owned subsidiary of Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chinalco) — entered into a $35 million loan agreement with China Development Bank.

The purpose of the loan was to fund the construction of a lime plant and the construction of the electricity supply of the Toromocho Project. The Toromocho Project is located in central Peru in the core of the Morococha mining district.

It is one of the largest copper mines in the world, and the first greenfield copper mine developed by a Chinese corporation abroad. Upon completion, the project was expected to boost overall copper exports from Peru by 25%.

CCCC Del Peru SAC (subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, Ltd.) was the contractor responsible for project implementation.

The Environmental Impact Assessment of the Toromocho Copper Mine Project was approved by the Peruvian government in December 2010. Chinalco Peru obtained the construction permit and began work in July 2011. The mines were officially commissioned on December 10, 2013.

However, three months after its inauguration, the operation of the mine was suspended by Peru’s Environment Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA) after it discovered illegal discharge of acid effluents in two nearby lakes.

Chinalco quickly resolved this matter by building improved drainage and explained the incident as a result of unusual heavy rainfall which caused unexpected acid runoffs. The Toromocho Copper Mine Project began commercial production on June 17, 2015.