Freeport seeks permit for $7.5B Chile copper expansion

U.S. miner Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) has begun the environmental permitting process for a $7.5-billion expansion of its majority-owned El Abra copper mine in Chile.

The project, owned 51% by Freeport and 49% by state-owned Codelco, is the largest mining investment submitted to Chile’s Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) since at least 1992. 

The plan includes a new concentrator, a desalination plant, a water pumping system, expanded mine infrastructure and continued leaching. Production is expected to begin in 2033 if regulators approve the project, Santiago-based Diario Financiero reported.

The expansion would increase annual copper output by more than 300,000 tonnes, compared with 91,000 tonnes produced last year, according to the Chilean copper commission (Cochilco). That implies a rise of about 330% and could propel El Abra from 17th to the third-largest copper operation in Chile, based on recent production rankings.

New projects

The submission comes during a week marked by new large-scale projects in the sector. Of the 10 largest projects ever filed with the SEA, only one other dates from this decade: a new $5-billion concentrator at Escondida mine, which also entered environmental assessment this week.

Chile’s mining sector is positioning to capitalize on pledges by new President Jose Antonio Kast to ease permitting rules that have delayed projects needed to counter falling ore grades and stagnant output.

Earlier this week, the country’s Economy and Mining Minister Daniel Mas urged entrepreneurs and investors to “go on the offensive” to tackle weak growth. In his first public remarks on Tuesday, Mas said that faster environmental approvals alone could unlock “billions of dollars” in investment and generate more than 20,000 jobs.

Copper demand

The El Abra expansion also underscores a broader push to expand copper supply as demand grows alongside electrification and energy transition trends, reinforcing Chile’s role as a key global production hub.

Based on Cochilco’s 2025–2034 investment pipeline, El Abra ranks as the second-largest project behind the proposed $8-billion Collahuasi concentrator, which has yet to enter permitting.

“The project for a new concentrator is in the feasibility study and engineering development stage, so there is still no set date for its submission for environmental processing,” a spokesperson for Collahuasi told The Northern Miner Group.

The Collahuasi copper mine in northern Chile is owned by Anglo American (LSE: AAL), Glencore (LSE: GLEN) — each with 44%, and Japan Collahuasi Resources, a consortium led by Mitsui & Co., with 12%.