Codelco and Pucobre have formally established a joint venture to develop the Tovaku copper project in Chile’s Antofagasta region, marking a new development milestone in a partnership that dates back to 2009. Under the ownership structure, Pucobre will hold a 60% stake and Codelco 40%. The newly formed company will now advance the project through its next development stages, giving the partners a clearer route toward construction and eventual production.
Following formation of the joint venture, Codelco and Pucobre plan to move ahead with detailed engineering, environmental and sectoral permitting, early works and procurement of major equipment. The work programme also includes field activities, critical permitting and engineering required to prepare the project for future construction. The current development roadmap targets production by 2030, with estimated investment of approximately US$870 million.
Tovaku is planned as an open-pit copper operation with estimated annual production of around 46,000 tonnes of copper cathodes. Codelco said the project contains 633 million tonnes of reserves and has a projected operating life of 21 years. The company also highlighted several technical characteristics, including shallow mineralisation, relatively low acid consumption and the planned use of undesalinated seawater in processing, which could reduce pressure on inland freshwater resources.
Under the agreed financing structure, Codelco will contribute the mining concessions, while Pucobre will contribute studies already completed and assume responsibility for financing the project’s development and construction stages. This allows Codelco to maintain its 40% participation without making direct capital contributions during these phases, with the funds committed by Pucobre expected to be recovered from future distributions corresponding to Codelco’s share of the project.
The key new development is the formal constitution of the 60/40 joint venture, which moves Tovaku from the earlier exploration and option-based arrangement into a more advanced project development phase. Pucobre had previously disclosed plans for the project, including an indicative production rate of around 43,000 tonnes of copper per year, meaning the latest announcement should not be presented as the first disclosure of Tovaku itself. The updated development plan now points to 46,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode production from 2030, while estimated investment has increased to around US$870 million, giving the project a more defined development pathway and a clearer potential contribution to Chile’s future copper supply.
