Freeport-McMoRan has launched the environmental permitting process for a $7.5 billion expansion of its El Abra copper mine in Chile, marking one of the largest mining investments ever submitted to the country’s Environmental Assessment Service.
The project, in which Freeport holds a 51% stake alongside state-owned Codelco’s 49%, aims to transform El Abra into a powerhouse operation. Plans include constructing a new concentrator, a desalination plant, a water pumping system, and expanded mine infrastructure while maintaining existing leaching operations.
If approved by regulators, production is slated to start in 2033.
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Output at El Abra could surge by over 300,000 tonnes of copper annually, a staggering increase from last year’s 91,000 tonnes, as reported by the Chilean copper commission.
The submission aligns with a wave of major mining proposals in Chile this week, including a $5 billion concentrator project at Escondida mine, also under environmental review. El Abra ranks as the second-largest project in Cochilco’s 2025–2034 investment pipeline, trailing only the proposed $8 billion Collahuasi concentrator, which has yet to enter permitting.
Politically, the timing reflects a shifting landscape for Chile’s mining sector. Newly elected President Jose Antonio Kast has pledged to streamline permitting processes that have long stalled projects amid declining ore grades and flat production.
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