Quebrada Blanca
| Location | |
|---|---|
Quebrada Blanca | |
| Tarapacá Region | |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 21°0′15.63″S 68°48′3.48″W / 21.0043417°S 68.8009667°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper |
| Production | 64,300 tons of copper |
| Financial year | 2023 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Teck Resources (60%) Sumitomo Group (30%) Codelco (10%) |
Quebrada Blanca (lit. "White Ravine") is an open-pit copper mine in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It lies in the Andes at an altitude of 4,400 meters above sea level and about 240 km southeast of the port city of Iquique.[1] Teck Resources owns 60% of the mine, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and Sumitomo Corporation own together 30% of it and state-owned Codelco owns 10%.[1][2] In 2023 it produced 64,300 tons of copper, up from 9,500 tons of copper in 2022.[3]
After years of delays, in October 2023 Quebrada Blanca inaugurated the start of a large expansion project that had its environmental impact assessment submitted in 2016.[4] Among other things, the project includes the building of a new large crusher.[4]
2024 Codelco share purchase
In 2024 state-owned ENAMI sold its 10% of shares in Quebrada Blanca to Codelco.[5][2][1] The terms of the purchase were criticized by Sociedad Nacional de Minería as lacking transparency.[5]
Prior to the sale the 10% of shares of Quebrada Blanca were ENAMI's main asset, and its sale was aimed to capitalize the company and pay-off some of ENAMI's debts.[5] Critics point out that shares were sold at prices below what private companies would have paid and that the sale is part of a pattern of empoverishment of ENAMI at the cost of benefitting Codelco.[5]
References
- ^ a b c "Quebrada Blanca". Consejo Minero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-09.
- ^ a b "Codelco compra 10% de Quebrada Blanca". Codelco (in Spanish). 2024-09-05.
- ^ Anuario de estadisticas del cobre y otros minerales [Yearbook: Copper and Other Mineral Statistics: 2004 2023] (Report). Comisión Chilena del Cobre. 2024.
- ^ a b Browne R., Vicente (2023-10-30). "Quebrada Blanca 2 de Teck: Qué hay detrás de la mayor inversión minera en 15 años". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-27.
- ^ a b c d Ibarra, Valeria (2024-09-05). "Enami vende su activo más valioso en US$ 520 millones a Codelco para pagar deudas: 10% de Quebrada Blanca". Diario Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-27.