Seawater's increasing role in mining

While Chile's mining industry has pioneered desalination plants in Latin America and continues to lead the pipeline of projects, mining minister Aurora Williams said the industry must now create shared infrastructure to benefit local communities.

By 2033, seawater is expected to account for 71% of the local copper industry's water sources, a growth of 167% compared to 2021. Continental water will represent 29%, a 45% decrease from 2021.

Seawater consumption will grow at an annual rate of 2%, Williams told an event hosted by Chilean desalination association Acades on Wednesday.

The local copper industry has been increasing its water use as it extracts more sulfide minerals amid the depletion of oxidized resources closer to the surface. Sulfides require water-intensive flotation processes.

Chile, the world's leading copper producer, has turned to desalination plants to address drought and water shortages and guarantee the sustainability of operations. Its mining industry claims 20 of the country's 24 desalination projects, with at least 11 more on the way. 

"But, they must be sustainable and collaborative," Williams said. “The State must guide the projects toward a shared infrastructure to avoid social friction. This requires several actors participating, not just the mining industry.”

Nayve Martínez, infrastructure and energy specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, agreed with the minister.

“We know that the community issue is very important, which is why we have teams deployed in Chile and other Latin American countries to ensure that all desalinated water mining projects comply with community, social and environmental standards. This is very important due to its role in the energy transition,” Martínez told BNamericas at the Acades event.