Chile's State-owned Codelco, the world's leading copper miner, is planning to invest an extra $720-million in the revamp of one of its copper mines.
The company has proposed a series of modifications to the original Chuquicamata underground project, aiming to reach the authorized production rate of 140 000 metric tons per day.
The proposal is detailed in a document posted on the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA), and the revisions are currently pending environmental approval.
The proposed operational changes, both underground and at the surface level, "will not alter the extraction and processing speeds originally authorized for the Project", Codelco added in the impact statement submitted to the authorities.
The firm's new CEO, Ruben Alvarado, is spearheading efforts to ramp up production levels. Codelco is set to end the year with around 1.315 million metric tons, which is at the lower end of the estimated range. However, Alvarado expects production to increase in 2024 to around 1.34 million metric tons.