en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) of Chile's Tarapacá Region has officially accepted the environmental impact study for the Cerro Colorado copper mine operational extension project, which involves an estimated investment of approximately $1.5 billion and aims to restart operations and extend the mine's lifespan by 20 years. This is one of the major mining projects currently under evaluation in the region, with a planned maximum annual production capacity of 130,000 metric tons of cathode copper.
The SEA issued the acceptance resolution on July 8, 2026, and on the same day initiated the process of consulting public agencies with environmental jurisdiction. These agencies will review the project's various technical and territorial components. The Tarapacá Regional SEA has sent information requests and sought opinions from 19 public agencies, including the General Water Directorate (DGA), the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin), the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), the National Indigenous Development Corporation (CONADI), the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels (SEC), the National Monuments Council, the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, as well as the Tarapacá Regional Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service and various regional ministries. The deadline for these entities to submit their reports is August 20, 2026.
During this phase, the agencies will assess whether the project complies with environmental regulations, applicable sectoral environmental permits, and whether the proposed measures are sufficient to address the significant impacts identified in the environmental impact assessment report. The initiation of the review does not constitute environmental approval for the project. Based on the agencies' opinions, this process may require the project owner to clarify, correct, or supplement information.
The project owner is Compañía Minera Cerro Colorado Ltda., which aims to restart operations that have been partially temporarily suspended since November 2023. The project will involve modifying existing facilities, expanding them, and constructing new works to support the operational extension, amending 9 of the mine's 14 current Environmental Qualification Resolutions (RCA). The total estimated investment is $1.5 billion, with a total construction period of 7.7 years divided into two phases: 3.5 years for constructing facilities needed to start operations, and an additional 4.2 years to ramp up the system to maximum processing capacity. The design considers starting with a processing capacity of nearly 20 million metric tons of ore per year, subsequently increasing to a maximum of 30 million metric tons per year to achieve a maximum production capacity of approximately 130,000 metric tons of cathode copper annually.
One of the main components of this initiative is a new water supply system. The project considers purchasing treated wastewater from authorized third-party suppliers, transported to the mine via an approximately 105-kilometer-long underground pipeline with a design capacity of 191 liters per second. The system will include two pumping stations, a reservoir with a capacity of 56,453 cubic meters, and a new reverse osmosis water treatment plant to produce water of different qualities required for mining processes. Regarding electricity, the initial operational phase will use existing infrastructure. However, if production capacity is increased to 30 million metric tons per year, a new 220 kV transmission line from the new Pozo Almonte to the new Cerro Colorado will be required.
The environmental review must consider an environmental impact report that identifies 53 environmental impacts, 12 of which are classified as significant. These impacts relate to flora and vegetation, terrestrial fauna, archaeology, and the human environment. The human environment concentrates the highest number of significant impacts, with 8 identified. Proposed measures include the rescue and transplantation of threatened plant species, germplasm conservation, rescue and relocation of reptiles, activation of alternative routes, and various archaeological rescue and valorization plans.
