Los Pelambres copper mine has been one of the company’s operations hardest hit by the lack of rainfall in Chile
SANTIAGO, April 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — Chile’s ongoing drought has affected mining production in the northern part of the country, causing a drop in output at Antofagasta Minerals, one of the world’s largest copper producers, the company said.
Ivan Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals, said the decline in production compared with last year is due to the “prolonged drought” in the northern Coquimbo region and a drop in some production in its subsidiary Minera Centinela.
At the same time, the region’s Minera Los Pelambres, one of the country’s primary copper deposits, has completed 73 percent of an infrastructure project that includes a desalination plant slated for operation in the second half of 2022.
It will enable the major copper mining company to normalize its production capacity, even if drought conditions persist for the rest of the year.
Antofagasta Minerals produced 138,800 tons of fine copper in the first quarter of the year and maintained its production target for the year at 660,000 to 690,000 tons, according to the company.
Chile, the world’s leading copper producer, has been hit by a 13-year drought with below-average rainfall, with water being a crucial element for the mining industry. — NNN-XINHUA
