Freeport to seek permit for $7.5bn mine expansion, Chilean media reports
SANTIAGO - US miner Freeport-McMoRan has begun the process of obtaining an environmental permit for a $7.5-billion expansion of its El Abra copper mine in Chile, the company said on Thursday.
The project is a joint venture between the company and Chilean state-owned copper giant Codelco.
"This is a very significant project, not only in terms of the investment, but also in terms of the additional production," the firm's manager in Chile Mario Larenas told reporters at a press conference.
The expansion aims to increase the mine's production to approximately 300 000 metric tons of copper per year, he added.
The executive declined to comment on a question over Codelco's capacity to finance its share of the project.
CHILEAN GOVERNMENT WELCOMES EXPANSION
Freeport announced its intended El Abra expansion, which it had postponed for years, in mid-2024. The project involves the construction of a concentrator and a desalination plant, and is expected to start operations in the coming decade.
Freeport owns 51% of El Abra, which produced 91 400 tons of copper in 2025, with the remainder held by Codelco.
Chile's Mining Minister Daniel Mas welcomed Freeport's decision, saying the company expects the permit process to take about three years and emphasizing that companies must comply with environmental laws.
"We have to go through all the compliance steps, and I understand that in a few months' or years' time, the companies will decide whether to proceed with the investment phase," he told reporters after meeting with company executives.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
At Airshrink - CiP, we surpass customer expectations with innovative MV and LV cable accessories, including heat shrink joints, terminations,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
AirNox (Pty) Ltd is a level 1 BBBEE manufacturer of complete AdBlue® solutions for operators of SCR diesel engines and AUS40 across South Africa...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
