Water supply key to Anglo American's copper expansion plans in Chile

As expected, Anglo American's copper production declined last year in Chile, falling 8% to 466,400t, but the miner aims to reverse this trend starting in 2027, with measures to secure permanent water supply key to its plans.

This year, production is expected to drop again to between 380,000t and 410,000t, primarily due to low ore grades at its three Chilean operations and maintenance at the processing plant at Los Bronces in the Metropolitan region.

Nonetheless, Anglo expects to increase copper output to approximately 450,000t–480,000t in 2027. To achieve this, the company plans to resume activity at the Los Bronces plant, continue advancing a debottlenecking project at Collahuasi and tackle the big challenge to the sustainability of its operations: water.

The London-based company has been addressing this issue for several years. Compared with 2015, it has managed to reduce fresh water consumption by nearly 50% across all its local operations and is already reusing 90% of the water in processes at Los Bronces, according to an October presentation.

Water for Los Bronces

These advances are part of Anglo’s commitment to the United Nations to become water resilient by 2030 at Los Bronces, located 65km from capital Santiago. 

To advance along this path, Anglo has reached an agreement with Aguas Pacífico to receive desalinated seawater starting in 2026. This water will come from a 1,000l/s desalination plant currently under construction in Valparaíso region, which had reached more than 55% completion by January. 

Initially, the supply will cover approximately 45% of Los Bronces’s water needs and will enable Anglo to cease using continental water by 2030, while also providing water to other industries and communities along the 105km aqueduct to Santiago.

According to the firm's Q4 report, Los Bronces produced 172,400t of copper last year, down 20% compared with 2023.

Collahuasi expansion

Anglo holds a 44% stake in Collahuasi, where a US$3.2bn expansion is underway. The project includes optimization measures and increased processing capacity to ensure the operation can continue for another 20 years. It also involves constructing a 1,050l/s desalination plant, which will be operated by Acciona and is expected to come online during the first half of 2026. 

However, the expansion has run into problems in obtaining permits and has faced resistance from local communities, which could further delay its start-up. 

Anglo's Q4 report stated that its attributable production at this asset, located in Tarapacá region, was 245,800t last year, a 3% decrease from the previous year.

El Soldado tech solution

The company's strategy also includes implementing dehydrated hydraulic stacking technology at the El Soldado tailings dams, a process that has been in place since 2022.

This technology reduces the consumption of continental fresh water while enhancing the security and stability of the facilities. 

As of October, this solution had already enabled the recovery of approximately 80% of the water from the tailings, making them suitable for reuse. 

Last year, production of copper in concentrate at the El Soldado operation in Valparaíso region reached 48,200t, up 22% from 2023.