en.Wedoany.com Reported - Codelco has strengthened its local agenda in the Antofagasta Region by presenting a portfolio of sustainable development projects linked to its northern mining operations. These initiatives are part of the Mining Well-being Strategy for the Antofagasta Region (EMRA 2023-2050), a regional instrument designed to align the mining industry, the public sector, and communities around a more competitive and environmentally responsible mining development.
The presentation took place in Calama as part of the implementation of EMRA, which was approved by the Regional Council in March 2024, based on recommendations from the OECD and promoted by the Regional Government of Antofagasta. The portfolio presented by the state-owned company aims to integrate operational sustainability, community development, and local relations initiatives within the areas of influence of its northern divisions (Chuquicamata, Radomiro Tomic, Ministro Hales, and Gabriela Mistral). The projects focus on aspects related to quality of life, health, water access, energy, public spaces, and environmental management, targeting long-standing gaps in communities surrounding the country's main copper mining areas.
This presentation aligns with the agenda shown in Codelco's Northern Operations 2025 Local Public Report, which indicates a total investment of $143 million in sustainability, local development, and local relations. Of this amount, $92 million is planned for execution over the next five years.
EMRA 2023-2050 proposes a long-term vision: achieving higher levels of regional well-being based on a competitive and environmentally responsible mining industry. For the mining sector, the strategy aims to shift from isolated initiatives to a regionally coordinated logic, aligning social, environmental, and productive investments with the priorities raised by communities, authorities, businesses, and technical stakeholders. The portfolio presented by Codelco is particularly significant due to the scale of its operations covering Calama and Sierra Gorda, where the state-owned company concentrates a significant portion of copper production and economic activity in the Antofagasta Region.
The Antofagasta Region is Chile's main mining hub, concentrating strategic operations in copper, lithium, industrial suppliers, energy, and logistics infrastructure. The relationship between mining and local communities has become an increasingly important factor for operational continuity, project permitting, and the social legitimacy of new projects. Codelco reported on its official website a copper production of 1,334,445 tons in 2025 and faces the challenge of stabilizing operational results, advancing structural projects, and maintaining its environmental and community commitments.
Initiatives related to health, water, and energy are particularly sensitive in the communities surrounding Calama and Alto Loa, where mining activity coexists with accumulated social demands, in a geography characterized by water scarcity, territorial dispersion, and heavy dependence on the extractive economy. In this context, Codelco's portfolio aims to align with a regional agenda that measures not only production or mining investment but also tangible results in quality of life, local employment, regional suppliers, the environment, and public governance.
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