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Chile

El Abra Mine

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Australia

El Abra Mine

Location: 61 km N from Calama, Chile

Regional Office:

Av. Chorrillos 1631, Edificio Business Park, Piso 6, Torre 1
Calama
Chile

Contacts:

Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors

Categories

Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Molybdenum
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotEl Abra is an open-pit copper mining complex.

At the El Abra operations, FCX has completed substantial drilling and evaluations and has identified a large sulfide reserve in support of a potential major mill project.

El Abra Expansion is focused on preparing the Environmental Impact Study, with submission targeted for the first half of 2026. The project is expected to require an approximately three-year permitting process, followed by roughly four years of construction, which would support a potential start-up around the 2033 timeframe. Once operating, the expansion could deliver an estimated incremental increase of more than 700 million pounds per year. The capital cost is estimated at about $7.5 billion and remains under review; this figure excludes an additional $2 billion associated with extending leach operations. The incentive price is expected to be below $4 per pound.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Codelco Corp. 49 % Indirect
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. 51 % Indirect
Sociedad Contractual Minera El Abra (operator) 100 % Direct
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. have a 51% ownership interest in El Abra, and the remaining 49% interest is held by the state-owned copper enterprise Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile.

Contractors

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SourceSource

Deposit type

  • Porphyry

Summary:

The El Abra mine is a porphyry copper deposit that has sulfide and oxide mineralization. The predominant primary sulfide copper minerals are bornite and chalcopyrite. There is a minor amount of secondary sulfide mineralization as chalcocite. The oxide copper minerals are chrysocolla and pseudomalachite. There are lesser amounts of copper bearing clays and tenorite.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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EV - Electric

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Commodity Production

CommodityUnits20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Copper M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe180200173220324
All production numbers are expressed as cathode.

Operational metrics

Metrics20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Daily mining capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe216,000 t214,000 t214,000 t214,000 t214,000 t
Daily processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe500 M lbs of copper cathode500 M lbs of copper cathode500 M lbs of copper cathode500 M lbs of copper cathode500 M lbs of copper cathode

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20182017
Cash costs Copper USD 2.13 / lb **   2 / lb **  
** Net of By-Product.

Mine Financials

Units20242023202220212020201920182017
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 493.5   596.1   501.1  
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -33.3  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -26.1   20.8   31.3  
Operating Cash Flow M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -57.9  
Book Value M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 657.4  

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2026
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2026
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2026
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2026
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2026

Workforce

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2025
...... Subscription required 2024
...... Subscription required 2023
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...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2020
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2019
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2018
...... Subscription required 2017
...... Subscription required 2016
...... Subscription required 2015
...... Subscription required 2014

Aerial view:

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