According to Mining.com, Chilean miner Antofagasta has decided to invest $200 million in the exploration of its Cachorro copper mine project in northern Chile over the next seven years.
The Cachorro project is located between Antofagasta's Centinela and Antucoya mines. In January, the company submitted the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The London-listed copper company stated that such proximity creates synergies for utilizing existing infrastructure and processing facilities.
If the EIA is approved by regulators, Antofagasta will proceed with surface and underground exploration to better delineate the deposit. This work will include 700 drill holes, optimizing the geological model through infill drilling, and constructing an adit to reach a depth of 300 meters.
As part of the environmental assessment process, Antofagasta will conduct baseline surveys for the protection of nearby ecosystems, monitor groundwater, carry out archaeological investigations, and promote local employment and procurement.
The Cachorro copper mine is located in the western part of the Atacama Desert at an altitude of 1,500 meters, 100 kilometers northeast of the city of Antofagasta. The mine is 1,100 kilometers north of Santiago, Chile's capital. Since exploration began in 2017, Antofagasta has identified 255 million mt of ore resources at the project, with a copper grade of 1.26% and an associated silver grade of 4 g/mt.
S&P Global Market Intelligence considers the Cachorro copper mine one of the largest greenfield copper discoveries in the past decade and one of the most important mantle-type deposits in Chile's coastal zone.
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The CCIE 2025 SMM (20th) Copper Conference and Copper Industry Expo
