Copper mines in Los Pelambres located in middle Chile will suspend operations in upcoming 120 days
Antofagasta has announced coronavirus pandemic as an official reason for the outage.
Antofagasta has planned Los Pelambres Expansion project, in which the company aimed to invest around $1,3 billion. Operations are now suspended for 4 upcoming months. The company has also announced suspension of contracts with most of the companies involved in the project. Antofagasta reacts to current situation with coronavirus pandemic and copped demand drop.
“This is a temporary suspension as it is impossible to continue as originally planned due to the current situation. We hope to start operating as soon as possible,” said Francisco Walther, vice president of Projects at Antofagasta Minerals SA. He also stated that the company aims to maintain all contractual relationships, but the operations must be suspended for now.
Los Pelambres is Antofagasta’s key mine with 350,000 tons of extracted copper annually. The mining complex ensures around half copper production of the company. Mining capacity of Los Pelambres should grow in 60,000 tons of copper per year, when the expansion project is finished.
