Anglo Looks to the Sea as Water Scarcity Hits Chilean Mines
- Company weighs desalination project with Codelco and Mitsui
- Los Bronces mine running 3-5% ahead of first-quarter guidance
Heavy equipment at the Los Bronces mine in central Chile.
Photographer: Alejandra Parra/Bloomberg
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With no letup in Chile’s years-long drought, Anglo American Plc is looking at developing a desalination project in partnership with state-owned Codelco, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. and a local water utility.
The proposal is to build a plant on the coast of the Valparaiso region that would produce drinking water for residents in exchange for access to waste water that could be used at mines, said Anglo’s Chile manager Aaron Puna. Codelco and Mitsui would participate through their holdings in Anglo’s Sur unit.