By Kylie Madry
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta LSE:ANTO plans to submit environmental applications to broaden its exploration activities for its Encierro and Volcanes projects in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a company document seen by Reuters.
The move would mark a step forward for two of Antofagasta's longer-term copper growth options, as major miners race to replenish copper pipelines while grappling with challenging permitting processes, water constraints and aging deposits in top producer Chile.
Encierro, a joint venture with Barrick Mining TSX:ABX, is a copper project in the northern Atacama region that also contains gold and molybdenum. Volcanes is a separate copper project in the mining-heavy Antofagasta region partially controlled by Chile's wealthy Luksic family.
Antofagasta has earmarked $60 million for the Volcanes exploration, with $95 million for Encierro, according to the April document.
The document shows the two projects on the same timeline, with entry into the environmental review system as environmental impact declarations (DIA) in the fourth quarter.
An earlier application for Encierro had been closed in 2024 after regulators determined it lacked essential information, including on protected birdlife in the project area.
The miner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Based on Antofagasta's inferred resource estimates, Encierro contains about 3.4 million metric tons of copper and Volcanes about 9.5 million tons, though those figures refer to estimated copper in the ground rather than recoverable output.
"More than anything, it seems like they're taking advantage of the good (copper) prices to make progress on their relatively unexplored greenfield projects," Cristian Cifuentes, an analyst for the Center for Copper and Mining Studies, said.
Copper prices have risen sharply in recent years, with the LME cash price at about $13,170 a metric ton on Wednesday, up about 58% from $8,355 a ton in early July 2023.
Antofagasta is already managing a heavy workload across its operating mines, juggling other expansion and mine-life extension projects.
It is carrying out major upgrade work at its Centinela mine - around 78% complete as of April - including the buildout of a seawater supply system, and its flagship Los Pelambres mine, with the two producing about 535,700 tons of copper last year.
Antofagasta also highlighted challenges ahead for this year to obtain permits as part of plans to invest more than $900 million at Zaldivar to extend the mine's life and replace continental water use with treated wastewater starting in 2028.