In an interview during the World Copper Conference Patricio Hidalgo commented that in addition to impacting the production of its star mine Los Bronces, lower water availability also affects Collahuasi, where it is associated with Glencore and Japanese firms.

The extensive drought that has hit Chile in recent years will continue to affect Anglo American's local operations in the short term, although the firm is working to find a solution, said the head of the mining company in the South American country.

In an interview during the World Copper Conference Patricio Hidalgo said that in addition to impacting the production of its star mine Los Bronces, lower water availability also affects Collahuasi, where it is associated with Glencore and Japanese firms.

"Last year was a relatively normal one in terms of rain. I wouldn't say it was a very rainy year, but rather what we were used to. It was a fairly normal year, which leaves us with probably better water stocks than we started with in the last five years," he explained.

The executive recalled that the company also decided to stop a processing plant in Los Bronces, "therefore we are going to require less water in this period. For this reason, the risk with water, although remaining, our exposure to that risk is lower." 

After receiving the green light for the expansion of Los Bronces, Hidalgo commented that the firm is now working to obtain some 500 permits. He declined to make projections about how long it would take to complete them and be able to start the project, so they are taking advantage to complete engineering and studies.

For its part, Collahuasi also received the environmental permit for improvements, which include the construction of a desalination plant that will be ready in 2026 to combat the problem.

"Collahuasi, like Los Bronces and several other operations, is still subject to water availability, so part of the decision to invest in the desalination plant under construction now is to be able to resolve that issue more structurally," he said.

"In 2024 and 2025, the exposure to lack of water will continue, but the good thing is that in Collahuasi there is more water in reserve than we started the year" due to better weather conditions, he assured.

But "any lack of water between now and the (time that the) desalination plant comes into operation continues to be a point of risk," he admitted.

Hidalgo said that future plans to strengthen Collahuasi's production are in a very preliminary stage and they prefer to move forward "step by step."

"It is indeed an asset that has a lot of potential," he stressed.