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Xstrata expands copper project
Mining group Xstrata is buying up copper projects in Queensland, Australia for A$175m (£113.7m) to help expand its nearby production operations, the firm said yesterday. Xstrata is buying the tenements from Exco and expects initial production to start in the second-half of 2012, once open pit mining at the Ernest Henry mine has ended. The acquisition and expansion is expected to create 100 full-time jobs and up to 401,000 tonnes of contained copper metal.