Major miner BHP Group has received the first important environmental approval for the expansion of its Escondida copper mine in Chile that would cost an estimated $14.7 billion in investment.
The Antofagasta Environmental Assessment Commission has approved early stage works involving sulphide leaching and electricity upgrades, Bloomberg reported with a reference to a BHP spokesperson.
This investment in this first stage of the expansion is estimated at $1.3 billion. Other major upgrades across mine and processing facilities at Escondida will follow further down the line.
In March, BHP filed an application to build a new concentrator plant at Escondida that will cost around $5.9 billion. The total cost estimate for BHP’s expansion in Chile is between $10.7 billion and $14.7 billion in the coming years.
Despite peak performance at the concentrators at the Escondida mine, the declining ore grades at the world’s biggest copper project prompts BHP to invest heavily to maintain current output levels.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
