
Seawater use in Chile's mines grows by a third

Seawater consumption across Chile's copper mining industry has seen steady growth over the years, and in 2015 it grew 33% to 2.3m3/s, state copper commission Cochilco said in a presentation in capital Santiago.
Since 2012, the use of seawater, both desalinated and non-desalinated, has surged 130% from 1.0m3/s, the agency said.
According to Cochilco's most recent water consumption forecast – published at the end of each year – seawater consumption is set to account for 50% of all water consumption in the mining industry by 2026.
While freshwater consumption in the industry last year was 13.07m3/s, growing only slightly compared to 12.95m3/s, the bulk of water consumed in the industry was reutilized water, reaching 40.4m3/s last year, Cochilco said.
Jorge Cantallopts, head of studies and public policy at Cochilco, said the small increase in freshwater consumption, paired with the increase in the reutilizing of water, shows the industry's commitment to lowering its impact on the limited water resources where mining operations are located.
Cantallopts said that reutilized water now accounts for 72.5% of water consumed in mining operations, while in the case of concentration, the most water-intensive process in the industry, reutilized water accounts for 73.2% of all water consumption.
In the coming years there are a number of new desalination plants that will help quench the industry's thirst. These include BHP Billiton's Escondida Water Supply project, expected to be the country's largest desalination plant. At a cost of US$3.43bn, it will treat 2,500l/s when it starts operating, due to happen next year.
Over the long term, other desalination plants set to come online include one for Codelco's RT Sulfuros project; a new plant for Teck Resource's QB2 expansion of Quebrada Blanca; one for project NuevaUnión, the JV between Teck and Goldcorp; and a facility for the next expansion phase of Antofagasta Minerals' Los Pelambres mine.
Subscribe to the most trusted business intelligence platform in Latin America. Let us show you our solutions for Suppliers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance.
News in: Mining & Metals (Chile)
Chile's mine tailings: Problems and solutions
There are 764 tailings dumps dotted across the country, of which 473 are inactive and 173 abandoned, according to a survey by national geology and ...
Chile's mining industry welcomes agreement on drafting new constitution
The first attempt to draw up a new constitution, in a process agreed following social unrest in late 2019, was rejected in a referendum on Septembe...
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Mining & Metals (Chile)
Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Arqueros Mining Project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Quebrada Blanca phase II (QB2)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Los Pelambres Incremental Expansion (Phase 2)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Operational adjustments Magnetite Plant
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: NEGREIROS EXPANSION
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Florida Mining 100
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Transit Mining Project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Veal Mining Prospecting Project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: OPERATIONAL CONTINUITY OF THE TAMBO DE ORO MINING WORK
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 month ago
- Project: Religiosity of Debris Pile 4, Modification Mina Guanaco
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 years ago
Other companies in: Mining & Metals (Chile)
Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Chile Ltda.  (ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Chile)
-
ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Chile is the local subsidiary of Thyssenkrupp South America, belonging to the German steel holding Thyssenkrupp. The company provides solutions...
- Company: Compañía Minera Teck Carmen de Andacollo S.A.  (Minera Teck Carmen de Andacollo)
-
Compañía Minera Teck Carmen de Andacollo S.A. is a joint venture between Canadian company Teck Resources Limited and Chile's national mining firm Enami. Founded in 1991, the San...
- Company: Barrick Latam
-
Gold mining company Barrick Latam operates as the regional business unit of Canada's Barrick Gold Corp. in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Dominican Republic. The company today owns ...
- Company: Minera Playa Verde Ltda.  (Minera Playa Verde)
-
Minera Playa Verde Ltda. is a Chilean miner currently developing the Playa Verde copper tailings project, located in Chañaral Bay, in Atacama region (III). The site contains at ...
- Company: Mantoverde S.A.  (Mantoverde)
-
Mantoverde S.A. is a Chilean mining company, subsidiary of Mantos Copper S.A., which is dedicated to the exploration, extraction, exploitation and production of minerals and con...
- Company: Minera Gold Fields Salares Norte Ltda.  (Minera Gold Fields Salares Norte)
-
Gold Fields Limited is a globally diversified producer of gold. It has eight operating mines, in Australia, Ghana, Peru and South Africa, whose combined annual attributable gold...
- Company: Compañía Minera La Merced
-
Compañía Minera La Merced, wholly owned by Chilean forestry, fishing and fuels holding company Empresas Copec, through its mining investment arm Alxar Minería, is a mining compa...
- Company: Minera Escondida Ltda.  (Minera Escondida)
-
Minera Escondida Ltda. is a Chilean miner which operates the largest copper mine in the world. It produces copper concentrates from copper sulfide ore processed by flotation, an...