University of Queensland students visit Glencore's Altonorte Copper Smelter

With Glencore’s support, final-year metallurgical engineering students from the University of Queensland (UQ) travelled to our Altonorte Metallurgical Complex in Chile to learn about its extraction and refining processes.

This visit by the 10 UQ students was part of a mid-year study tour to Brazil and Chile where they also engaged with other operations and universities to gain technical and practical knowledge.

Altonorte is a custom copper smelting operation located near the port of Antofagasta in northern Chile. It produces and markets copper, sulfuric acid and copper solution (PLS) anodes.

At Altonorte, students were greeted by the superintendent of Metallurgical Balance, Eduardo Soto, and Pablo Cáceres, Senior Engineer of Continuous Improvement Processes. Both Eduardo and Pablo are responsible for the main aspects of metallurgy and processing at the foundry. Students not only learned of the production and processing operations but also about the many challenges faced in the industry and the importance of developing skills to operate in changing environments.

Annabelle Waterworth, a student on the tour, said that she was beyond grateful for the opportunities the trip provided, and to learn more about copper smelter operations at an international level.

"It has been very interesting to see how anode molding works, I had only seen it in photos and it is not the same as actually seeing it. I didn't think it was such a stable process and that the anode came out so quickly," she said.

Associate Professor James Vaughan is the Metallurgy Major Lead and head of the Hydrometallurgy Research Group within the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland. As the tour leader for the trip, he explained the value the experience provides for students.

“It was an incredibly worthwhile and beneficial visit. We toured the entire site and its main processes, which is extremely valuable for students who study metallurgy in theory, but who have never seen a foundry. It is difficult to explain the day-to-day operations from the classroom, so now they have a keen understanding and first-hand knowledge of happenings across a site," he said.

Glencore is committed to contributing to the training of young people and encouraging them to pursue a career in the resources industry. By creating opportunities for students through tours and practical guidance, Glencore can share valuable insights and continue to demonstrate how we responsibly produce the products that advance everyday life.