AMSA’s Los Pelambres Useful Life Extension project will push copper production at the mine to 2051

Copper mine operator Minera Los Pelambres, part of Antofagasta Minerals, has submitted to the Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) its beneficial life extension (EVU) project that seeks to extend its operations beyond 2035, the date on which its current permits expire. Through this initiative, the company plans to continue producing copper until 2051 in a sustainable manner, using clean energy and desalinated seawater, among other features.

“This project is part of the future vision of the company, which seeks to maintain its contribution to the economy, employment and well-being of the people of the province of Chuapa, the Coquimbo region and the country, by conducting modern, sustainable and respectable mining. It is a good environmental environment,” said Ivan Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals. “.

As its name indicates, the initiative consists of extending the useful life of operation of Minera Los Pelambres, one of the largest copper deposits in Chile, incorporating approximately 1,200 metric tons of additional reserves to the 2,100 metric tons already environmentally certified.

The materialization of the beneficial life-extension Minera Los Pelambres project will involve an initial investment of US$2 billion, and it is estimated that in the period of greatest construction activity it will generate around 4,000 jobs.

Currently, Minera Los Belampres is building an Operational Adaptation (PAO) project, which among other works is considering doubling the capacity of the existing desalination plant in Los Vilos, to produce 800 liters per second of desalinated water. Once the water treatment plant is operational, more than 90% of the water used in the process will be recycled or desalinated.

Aiming to continue to operate primarily with seawater or recycled water, the EVU project can gradually enable up to an additional 800 liters per second of desalinated water, if necessary. To do this, it will take advantage of an important part of the infrastructure already built in the Los Vilos sector, such as underwater seawater harvesting works. This reduces potential impacts on its environment and avoids interference with other activities taking place in the bay.

“We want to continue to deepen the water transformation we started this year by becoming the first mining company in the central region of Chile to use seawater in its production processes. Through the EVU project, We will ensure future operating requirements in the context of climate change, fulfilling our commitment to produce copper primarily using seawater or recycled mining treated water.

As in other projects that are part of the Los Pelambres Futuro vision, within its voluntary commitments, the EVU project is considering making part of its seawater extraction capacity available to the community, which could be used through an initiative developed by third parties for human consumption and other uses. Thus, it contributes to confronting the drought affecting the province of Chuapa and the Coquimbo region as a result of climate change.

Extending Minera Los Pelambres’ operations beyond 2035 “is a benefit not only to shareholders, but also to the province of Chuapa, the Coquimbo region and the country. In 2023 alone, the company generated $365 million in taxes and today employs more than 7,700 people,” he said. More than half of them are in the Coquimbo region. In addition, it deals with hundreds of local small and medium-sized companies and supports social initiatives that are identified in cooperation with neighboring communities and authorities.

Today, Minera los Pelambres represents 25% of regional GDP and nearly 70% of exports. As a means of reducing its potential impacts on the environment, the EVU project will take advantage of the facilities already built at the El Moro Dam to deposit its tailings, without requiring intervention in new sectors. To do this, it is proposed to increase the maximum height adopted in the current scheme of the dam’s main wall by approximately 16%.

“For the growth of the El Morro Dam, we carried out various engineering studies and simulations, based on the advice of a committee of international experts, in order to ensure the safe operation of the dam,” Vázquez explains.

Likewise, the EVU project will not interfere with the rocky glaciers or high Andean plains surrounding the site, which is located in the Andes mountain range, more than 3,500 meters above sea level.

As part of its environmental commitments to the Coquimbo region, the company currently protects more than 27,000 hectares of wilderness areas, including 4 nature reserves (Ramsar site Laguna Conchali, Palma Chilena de Monte Aranda, Quebrada Lao-Lao and Cerro Santa Inés). . “For every hectare we use in our operations, Minera Los Pelambres protects 6 hectares of wilderness. In this way, we contribute positively to the conservation, knowledge and dissemination of the biodiversity of the central region of Chile.”