mine · Chile

Escondida

The largest copper mine in the world by output, operating in the Atacama Desert since 1990.

OperatingProductionProject score 88

Operator

BHP Group

Country

Chile

Mine life

25 yrs

Capex

—

Profile

Resource, economics and jurisdiction

Resource: Very large porphyry copper resource with declining head grades.
Production: Around 1.1 Mt of copper annually across concentrator and leach circuits.
Economics: Long-life low-cost operation with sustaining capital focused on grade decline.
Infrastructure: Two concentrators, desalination plant and dedicated port access.
Jurisdiction: Very low risk
Ownership: BHP 57.5%, Rio Tinto 30%, JECO 12.5%
Region: Antofagasta Region

Overview

The largest copper mine in the world by output, operating in the Atacama Desert since 1990.

Methodology

Version v0.1

Resource Quality: 90 (weight 1.2) — Grade, continuity and metallurgical complexity of the resource.
Project Scale: 90 (weight 1) — Annual output potential relative to the global market for its primary mineral.
Development Stage: 93 (weight 0.9) — How far the asset has advanced toward or through production.
Jurisdiction: 89 (weight 1.1) — Political stability, permitting predictability and rule of law.
Infrastructure: 90 (weight 0.9) — Access to power, water, transport and processing capacity.
Economics: 87 (weight 1.2) — Cost position and margin resilience through the price cycle.
Strategic Importance: 94 (weight 1) — Relevance to national critical mineral strategies and allied supply chains.
Supply-Chain Value: 85 (weight 1) — Whether the asset relieves a genuine downstream bottleneck.
Sustainability: 91 (weight 0.9) — Carbon intensity, water use, tailings approach and community standing.
Execution Risk: 79 (weight 1) — Technical, financing and schedule risk to reaching nameplate output. Higher is lower risk.

Materials

Copper is the primary conductor of the electrified economy, used wherever electricity or heat must move efficiently.

Assets

The largest underground copper mine in the world, in operation for over a century.

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