Tag Archives: Ruben Fernandes

Anglo American to fill almost half of Los Bronces mine water requirements with desalinated resource

Anglo American, following the signing of an agreement with Aguas Pacífico, a Chile-based water desalination and solutions provider, says it has secured desalinated water supply for its Los Bronces copper mine in Chile from 2025.

This pact will meet almost half of the mine’s water requirements, Anglo American says.

In this first phase, Anglo American will be supplied with desalinated water from a plant that is being built in the Valparaiso region by Aguas Pacífico. The water will be transported via pipeline
to the Las Tortolas plant from where it will be pumped up to the Los Bronces mine. Anglo American will also provide desalinated water to supply the nearby communities of Colina and Til
Til, benefiting approximately 20,000 people.

Ruben Fernandes, CEO of Anglo American’s Base Metals business, said: “Anglo American has set an ambition of reducing fresh water abstraction in water scarce regions by 50% by 2030. This agreement – which is the first phase of a larger and longer term integrated water project to eliminate our use of fresh water at our Los Bronces operation – is an important step towards
achieving that goal.

“The Central zone of Chile, where Los Bronces is located, has been impacted by a decade-long severe drought and this desalinated water will supply more than 45% of Los Bronces’ needs while also providing clean water to approximately 20,000 people in communities local to the operation.”

Anik Michaud, Group Director of Corporate Relations and Sustainable Impact at Anglo American, said: “Beyond this first phase, we are also planning an innovative swap scheme to provide desalinated water for human consumption in exchange for treated wastewater that will supply our operation. This would allow us to stop drawing any fresh water for Los Bronces – our ultimate goal.

“This innovative approach not only secures industrial water supply for our Los Bronces operation to sustain copper production, but also benefits local communities with the provision of clean water.”

Anglo American kicks off commercial ops at Quellaveco copper mine

Anglo American has announced the start of commercial copper operations at its Quellaveco project in Peru, following the successful testing of operations and final regulatory clearance.

Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 t/y of copper-equivalent volume on average over its first ten years.

The milestone follows unloading of first ore to the primary crusher in June and the production of first copper in July.

Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “Our delivery of Quellaveco, a major new world-class copper mine, is testament to the incredible efforts of our workforce and our commitment to our stakeholders in Peru over many years. Quellaveco, alone, is expected to lift our total global output by 10% in copper-equivalent terms and take our total copper production close to 1 Mt/y. At a highly competitive operating cost, Quellaveco exemplifies the asset and return profile that is central to our portfolio quality and our ability to provide customers with a reliable and sustainable supply of future-enabling metals.”

Ruben Fernandes, CEO of Anglo American’s Base Metals business, added: “We designed Quellaveco as one of Anglo American’s and South America’s most technologically advanced mines, incorporating autonomous drilling and haulage fleets – a first in Peru – a remote operations centre, as well as a number of Anglo American’s digital and advanced processing technologies. Drawing its electricity supply entirely from renewables, Quellaveco is setting an example of a low emission mine producing a critical metal for decarbonising the global economy – copper. In Quellaveco, we can see FutureSmart Mining™ in action.”

Anglo American expects that Quellaveco will ramp up fully over the next 9-12 months. Following a thorough commissioning and testing period, and receipt of final regulatory clearance, production guidance for Quellaveco in 2022 is revised to 80,000-100,000 t of copper (previously 100,000-150,000 t) at a C1 unit cost of $1.50/lb, previously $1.35/Ib. Production guidance for Quellaveco in 2023 and 2024 is unchanged at 320,000-370,000 t of copper.