By Kylie Madry
SANTIAGO, April 16 (Reuters) – Chilean copper producer Codelco and global miner Anglo American plan to submit separate environmental studies to regulators for their planned shared copper mine in Chile, documents seen by Reuters show, using what they called an “unprecedented” twin-track to streamline the approval process.
The previously unreported documents on the Andina-Los Bronces project, presented to environmental authorities in January, show the companies plan in December to file two largely identical applications for a pit where they would jointly extract copper in the world’s top producer of the red metal.
The model could serve as a blueprint for other major miners seeking to share infrastructure and operations to raise output amid an expected global supply crunch, while setting up Codelco and Anglo American to move faster and cut down on risks.
Codelco and Anglo finalized the deal in September, planning to add about 120,000 metric tons of copper per year from 2030 to 2051, generating at least $5 billion in pre-tax value.
Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco, as well as a source at Anglo American, confirmed to Reuters that the firms plan to file the two applications at the end of the year.
‘MIRROR’ APPLICATIONS
In areas where operations will overlap, the companies proposed applying identical environmental measures to each miner.
A single filing was not legally viable, they argued, because Chile’s constitution requires Codelco to retain ownership of its mining concessions, one presentation showed.
The companies also considered filing three applications: one from each miner to extend the useful life of their respective mines, and a third from a joint entity that would run the shared operation.
They ruled that out because it would require the firms to give up their existing open-pit environmental permits to make way for the combined mine.
The dual structure would also allow the mines to potentially return to independent operations in the future.
WORK ON THE GROUND
The documents detailed plans to create a single pit over the existing pits.
Anglo American’s Los Bronces and Codelco’s Andina pits are adjacent, and the companies’ plan showed the rock barrier between them would also be mined, creating a single operating pit while keeping the project largely within the mines’ existing footprint.
Ore extracted from the shared pit would be sent interchangeably to Los Bronces’ and Andina’s processing plants, while waste rock would be deposited in each company’s own waste dumps, one document showed.
Changes to waste dumps, tailings facilities, pipelines and support infrastructure would still be needed for the two mines to operate as an integrated system.
Shared infrastructure would avoid duplicate facilities, cut freshwater use and reduce pressure on the surrounding area, the companies said.
RISKS TO SHARING A MINE
The companies also flagged significant risks, such as the need for close coordination with regulators, which could strain Chile’s already slow-moving environmental review system.
They highlighted the project’s “high public visibility” and the risk that environmentalists and affected communities could argue the two reviews obscure the scale of the impacts.
Los Bronces has faced years of scrutiny by residents, regulators and courts over alleged impacts on air quality, water use and glaciers in the high Andes where the mine operates.
While Codelco and Anglo argue the dual-track approach would reduce the risk of underestimating impacts, they acknowledged it could lead to duplicate or unnecessary environmental management measures.
The firms plan to begin outreach to local communities and other stakeholders in the second half of the year, one document showed.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Fabian Cambero. Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Mark Potter)
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