Antofagasta plc owns the Antucoya mine through its 70%-owned subsidiary, Minera Antucoya S.A., with the remaining 30% held by its minority partner, Marubeni Corporation.
| Contractor | Contract | Description | Ref. Date | Expiry | Source |
|
Engie Energia Chile S.A.
|
Power supply
|
May, 2019 - Minera Antucoya has signed a long-term agreement with ENGIE Energia Chile SA. The new agreement, which will begin in January 2022 has a term of eleven years.
ENGIE Energía Chile will supply around 300GWh of power generated by renewable energy sources to Minera Antucoya each year.
January, 2022 - completed the transition of Antucoya to electricity generated exclusively from renewable sourced contract.
|
May 31, 2019
|
11
|
|
|
Schwager S.A.
|
Plant maintenance
|
The contract with Minera Antucoya consists of Spot support services to cover major maintenance needs in the areas of Primary Crushing, Secondary Crushing, Tertiary Crushing, Agglomerate, Stacking, Gravels and Wet Area, which provides support to the needs of Minera Antucoya, in order to comply with the Maintenance Plan for the year 2022 and 2023.
|
Dec 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
Sistema Eléctrico Nacional
|
Power supply
|
All operations of the Antofagasta are on Chile’s main grid, the National Electrical System (Sistema Eléctrico Nacional, SEN).
|
Dec 31, 2024
|
|
|
Summary:
The Antucoya porphyry copper deposit is situated 120 km northeast of Antofagasta in the Early Cretaceous metallogenic belt of the Coastal Cordillera.
The mineralized system is related to granodioritic porphyry (Antucoya porphyry) and dacite porphyry (Buey Muerto porphyry). Late dacitic dikes intrude the former ore-related intrusions and Jurassic andesitic host rocks in a tectonic environment dominated by splays of the Atacama Fault System.
The principal mineralization constitutes a column 350 m thick, composed of atacamite, brochantite, Fe-Cu sulfates, Cubearing limonite, chrysocolla and black oxides, with rare chalcocite and covellite in a thin supergene enrichment blanket.
In the underlying hypogene zone, the mineralization is dominated by chalcopyrite>pyrite>bornite hosted by A- and B veins in potassic alteration, and in C-veins on the periphery of the porphyry intrusions. The pyrite/chalcopyrite ratio is greater in D-veins within a shallow phyllic zone. The Mo distribution is erratic and poorly characterized.
Reserves at December 31, 2024
The ore reserve cut-off grade is 0.15% copper, coinciding with the cut-off grade used for mineral resources.
Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
|
Proven
|
397.4 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.32 %
|
|
Probable
|
294 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.28 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
691.4 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.3 %
|
|
Measured
|
412.6 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.32 %
|
|
Indicated
|
354.4 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.28 %
|
|
Measured & Indicated
|
767 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.3 %
|
|
Inferred
|
280.9 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.25 %
|
|
Total Resource
|
1,048 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.29 %
|
Summary:
Antucoya is a low-grade, low strip-ratio, oxide deposit.
Conventional open-pit mining method with preliminary drilling and blasting operations is utilized for extraction oxide ore.
There are electric shovels and front-end loaders used for extraction-and-loading.
Heavy Mobile Equipment
| HME Type | Model | Quantity |
|
Drill
|
Epiroc D65
|
1
|
|
Drill (blasthole)
|
Caterpillar MD6240
|
2
|
|
Grader
|
|
1
|
|
Loader (FEL)
|
LeTourneau L2350
|
1
|
|
Shovel (rope) - EV
|
P&H 4100 XPC
|
2
|
|
Truck (haul) - EV
|
Komatsu 930E
|
10
|
EV - Electric
Comminution
Crushers and Mills
| Type | Model | Size | Power | Quantity |
|
Jaw crusher
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
Cone crusher
|
|
|
|
2
|
Summary:
There are three stages of crushing at the Antucoya processing plant, primary jaw crushing, secondary and tertiary cone crushing.
Processing
- Sulfuric acid (reagent)
- Crush-and-stack plant
- Heap leach
- Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
Summary:
Mined oxide ore is crushed, piled into heaps and then leached with sulphuric acid, producing a copper sulphate solution. This solution is then put through a solvent extraction and electrowinning (“SX-EW”) plant to produce copper cathodes, which are sold to fabricators around the world.
Solvent Extraction And Electrowinning
A process for extracting metal from an ore and producing pure metal. First the metal is leached into solution, the resulting solution is then purified in the solvent-extraction process before being treated in an electrochemical process (electrowinning) to recover cathode copper.
Recoveries & Grades:
| Commodity | Parameter | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|
Copper
|
Head Grade, %
| 0.32 | 0.33 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.38 | 0.39 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.39 |
|
Copper
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 69.4 | 67.9 | 69 | 69.1 | 73.7 | 74.6 | 71.6 | 73.7 | 70.6 |
Pipelines and Water Supply
| Type | Material | Diameter | Length | Description |
|
Water pipeline
|
|
|
~12 km
|
Sea water pipeline
|
Summary:
Antucoya has processes in place to manage and conserve freshwater.
Antucoya uses seawater in both mining and electrowinning plant. It also has reverse osmosis plant to produce drinking water for the camp. All the water used in camps and offices is collected for treatment in the wastewater treatment plant and is used to moisten our internal roads and the open pit loading area.
Antucoya operation has used raw sea water for a number of years, with the plant configured to handle saline water in processing. Local water wells were closed in 2022, and therefore the operation run on 100% sea water.
There is a shared pipeline between Antucoya and Centinela.
Commodity Production
| Commodity | Units | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|
Copper
|
t
| 80,000-85,000 ^ | 80,400 | 77,800 | 79,200 | 78,600 | 79,300 | 71,900 | 72,200 | 80,500 | 66,200 |
All production numbers are expressed as cathode.
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Operational metrics
| Metrics | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|
Daily processing rate
| 92.7 kt | 88.6 kt | 89.4 kt | 85.5 kt | 76 kt | 66.5 kt | 74.7 kt | 79.7 kt | 67.6 kt |
|
Waste
| 32,172,117 t | 33,576,000 t | 25 Mt | 27 Mt | 23 Mt | 23 Mt | | | |
|
Daily processing capacity
| | 100,000 t | 100,000 t | 100,000 t | 100,000 t | 100,000 t | | | |
Production Costs
| | Commodity | Units | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|
Cash costs
|
Copper
|
USD
|
2.7 / lb ^
|
2.53 / lb
|
2.63 / lb
|
2.5 / lb
|
2.04 / lb
|
1.82 / lb
|
2.17 / lb
|
1.99 / lb
|
1.68 / lb
|
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Mine Financials
| | Units | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|
Sustaining costs
|
M USD
| 80.3 | 88 | 58 | | |
|
|
|
|
Capital expenditures
|
M USD
| 123.4 | 122 | 67 | 62.7 | 44.6 |
50
|
65.7
|
78.2
|
|
Revenue
|
M USD
| 732.6 | 672.3 | 703.5 | 697.8 | 480.3 |
432.2
|
457.6
|
508.6
|
|
Operating Income
|
M USD
| 529.5 | 105.7 | 155.6 | 238.3 | 71.2 |
-5.9
|
62.9
|
131.2
|
|
Pre-tax Income
|
M USD
| 518.1 | 81.4 | 131.5 | 228 | 42.5 |
-47.7
|
11.4
|
85.1
|
|
After-tax Income
|
M USD
| 373.2 | 66.8 | 96.6 | 311.5 | 42.2 |
-47.9
|
27
|
|
|
EBITDA
|
M USD
| 275.8 | 215.1 | 261.2 | 337.1 | 165.8 |
86.3
|
141.6
|
207.3
|
|
Operating Cash Flow
|
M USD
| 286.4 | 209.7 | 162.1 | 295.3 | 147.3 |
73.8
|
80.8
|
240.7
|
Personnel
| Job Title | Name | Profile | Ref. Date |
|
Logistics Manager
|
Cristian A.
|
|
Jun 2, 2025
|
|
Maintenance Manager
|
Alejandro Rojas Basoalto
|
|
Jun 2, 2025
|
|
Mine General Manager
|
Ivo Fadic
|
|
Jun 2, 2025
|
|
Mining Manager
|
Alex Calderon
|
|
Jun 2, 2025
|
|
Operations Manager
|
Patricio Mora
|
|
Jun 2, 2025
|
|
Planning Superintendent
|
Emapía Riveras Vergara
|
|
Jun 2, 2025
|
| Employees | Contractors | Year |
|
930
|
1,658
|
2024
|
|
949
|
1,747
|
2023
|
|
894
|
1,309
|
2022
|
|
817
|
|
2021
|
|
798
|
|
2020
|
|
787
|
|
2019
|
|
786
|
|
2018
|
|
737
|
|
2017
|
|
726
|
|
2016
|
|
698
|
|
2015
|