Posted on 24 Feb 2025
Anglo American and Codelco have agreed to implement a joint mine plan for their neighbouring copper projects in Chile in what they call an unprecedented move.
Under an MOU, the miners intend to create a new company to coordinate a joint mine plan, which will optimise the use of the processing capacity of two operations: Los Bronce and Andina.
UK-listed Anglo American operates and owns 50.1% of the Los Bronces mine through its subsidiary Anglo American Sur (AAS). Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi has a 20.4% stake, while Chile’s state-owned Codelco and Japanese group Mitsui own the remaining 29.5% through a joint venture.
Codelco also owns and operates the nearby Andina mine. Together, the two projects account for around 2% of global copper reserves, or 60 million tonnes of contained copper, Kallanish learns.
By joining forces to boost copper production by 2.7m t between 2030 and 2051, equivalent to 120,000 t/y, Codelco and AAS estimate to deliver a net present value uplift of “at least $5 billion,” which will be shared equally. While costs and liabilities of the joint mine plan will also be shared, each company will retain full ownership rights of their respective assets and will continue to exploit their concessions separately.
The plan is to conclude due diligence and finalise definitive agreements in the second half of 2025. Analysts at Jefferies note the strategy could reduce cash costs by 15%.
“Copper is at the forefront of our growth ambitions and we already have a clear pathway to more than 1m t of annual copper production by the early 2030s, a 30% increase,” says Duncan Wanblad, Anglo American’s ceo.
Codelco’s chairman Maximo Pacheco notes the companies have been “good neighbours for decades” and with an alliance they will increase copper production “without any material additional investments.”
If the deal goes ahead, Pacheco forecasts the mining district will become one of the three most important in Chile and the fourth worldwide. “This project represents an unprecedented public-private collaboration model globally… Each company will conduct its mining operations independently but in a coordinated manner,” he adds.
Also on Thursday, Anglo American posted a $3 billion loss in 2024, from a $283 million profit the year before, due to non-cash charges in the De Beers diamond business and a potash project in the UK. The miner saw its total revenue drop 11% to $27.2 billion.
Source:Kallanish
