A large part of these resources - 78% according to Diario Financiero - will be used to improve Escondida, the most productive copper mine in the world.
Anglo-Australian BHP, which owns a majority stake in Chile's Escondida copper deposit, is preparing a series of large investments for various projects in Chile, which will translate into an outlay of up to US$ 13.7 billion over the next 10 years.
A large part of these resources - 78% according to local economic media Diario Financiero - will be used to improve Escondida, considered the most productive copper mine in the world.
BHP'S MEGA-INVESTMENTS IN CHILE
Broadly speaking, one of the initiatives aims to build a concentration plant to replace the Los Colorados plant, although first the foreign-owned company plans to extend the useful life of these facilities until at least 2029 and even 2031.
To achieve this, they will invest around US$300 million to increase production to around 145 thousand metric tons per year.
Following this, a new concentration plant will be built, with an estimated Capex of between US$4.4 billion and US$5.9 billion, which would leave a production capacity of between 220,000 and 260,000 tons.
According to DF, other initiatives focused on Escondida include the implementation of new processing technologies, modernization of the workers' camp, another warehouse and expansion of areas for disposal of materials.
ESCONDIDA, SPENCE AND CERRO COLORADO
But BHP's mega-spending in Chile does not stop there.
Spence and Cerro Colorado (Pampa Norte) would also see improvements in their concentrators, in order to increase the yield from 95 thousand to 105 thousand tons per day, through an investment of up to US$ 600 million.
Another initiative seeks to extend the useful life of cathode production at the Spence division until 2031, spending around US$ 120 million, while Cerro Colorado would be reopened after the suspension of operations last year.
For the latter, BHP would invest between US$2.3 billion and US$3.2 billion. However, a possible restart of the mine would be between 2031-2032, while the environmental impact studies would be presented in the second half of 2026, DF reports.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Most of these investments have a production start date of 2030 or thereabouts.
For example, for the new concentration plant that will replace Los Colorados, although the environmental study would be presented at the end of next year, the final investment decision is projected for fiscal year 2027-2028 and production would begin at the beginning of the next decade.
BHP is one of the major players in the copper mining industry, not only in Chile but internationally. Since 1990, the company's production in our country has produced nearly 38 million tons of copper, which would be 7% of global production of the mineral, DF details.
With these investments, the company's executives - who are visiting Chile - aim, among other objectives, to get Escondida back to producing some 1.3 million tons.
In its presentation, the company affirmed “stability” and Chilean institutions as a favorable aspect for investments, in addition to inflation control and even pointing to the Royalty as “a new royalty structure that provides certainty,” the aforementioned media outlet points out.
