Reported by Mining.com, citing Reuters
Patricio Hidalgo, CEO of Anglo American Chile, stated on Tuesday that Chile must accelerate permit approvals to help copper mines expand production and address the looming global copper supply gap.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric has pledged to shorten permitting timelines by one-third, but a reform bill aimed at streamlining approvals remains under debate in Congress.
As Chile accounts for a quarter of the world’s copper output, many mining companies operating in the country are urging swift passage of the proposal.
Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining firms and a recent takeover target of BHP, holds a 44% stake in Chile’s Los Bronces and Collahuasi copper mines, both major operations.
Hidalgo noted that by 2040, global copper demand growth will require the equivalent of 80 additional Los Bronces-sized mines, driven by the energy transition, emerging economies, and digitalization needs. In 2024, Los Bronces produced 172,000 tonnes of copper.
“Given such a significant supply-demand gap, we must act faster to ramp up copper production,” he said.
He also emphasized the need for collaboration to maximize output, citing Anglo American’s recent agreement with Codelco to share infrastructure between Los Bronces and the nearby Andina mine. The deal is expected to boost annual production by 120,000 tonnes.
At the CRU World Copper Conference in Santiago on Tuesday, Freeport-McMoRan CEO Kathleen Quirk praised such initiatives.
“We need more agreements like this to achieve greater resource-sharing,” she said.
Hidalgo added that Chile holds significant potential for further infrastructure partnerships.
“Looking at the Andean copper belt… the potential for synergies is enormous. This challenges some of the industry’s traditional paradigms,” he remarked.
Source:
https://geoglobal.mnr.gov.cn/zx/kczygl/flfg/202504/t20250410_9299897.htm
