Chile Copper Industry: Water Consumption Projections for 2023-2034

Chile produces nearly a quarter of the world’s copper supply, and most of that production comes from one of the driest places on earth, the Northern region of the country. Although the mining industry only uses 9% of the countries water, due to the location of these operations, they traditionally relied on continental water sources – land based water from lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

This started to change a decade ago as new mines were built, as existing operations expanded, and a drought set in over most of Chile. Water is a critical component in mining operations, used in hydrometallurgical processes, concentrators, smelter and refinery, as well as other processes.

As miners face declining ore bodies, they need to send more material through the plants to maintain production which then requires more water. The result is that one of the biggest risks to the Chilean mining industry is ensuring that mining operations can get the water they need without putting at risk the very limited supply of water that surrounds these mine sites.

Although the Chilean mining industry has been proactively moving towards recycling water, using seawater, and desalinated water, the reality is that miners have started to feel the consequences over the last few years.

BHP’s Cerro Colorado copper mine was ordered in 2022 to stop pumping water from their aquifers for 90 days. Antofagasta Minerals the same year had to cut its copper production targets. Anglo American’s Los Bronces copper output decreased by 28% in 2019, due to a 44% decline in the plant’s processing capacity because of lack of water.

Mining is one of the main drivers of the Chilean economy, and water scarcity is an extreme risk to both existing operations and new mines that will need to be built. The Copper Commission (Cochilco) has been studying water usage in the industry for the last few years.

Last week they released their new report, which outlines their projected water usage for the Chilean mining industry between 2023 and 2034. We have provided an outline of the most important conclusions from the report which can be found here.

Projection of Water Consumption in Copper Mining 2023-2034

The Cochilco report forecasts the demand of water taking into consideration new projects that are expected to be built. In addition, the report outlines just how fast the mining industry is migrating from continental sources of water to other sources that includes using seawater directly in operations or desalinated water to supply operations.

• The report concludes that based on the projected pipeline of project between 2023 -2034, copper production in Chile should reach 6.43 million tons, at an average growth rate of 1.7%.
• The study also points out that more than half of the projected water demand comes from projects that are already in operation or in the process of execution. Likewise, more than 80% of the expected water consumption for the year 2034 is associated with projects that have already obtained the corresponding environmental permits.
• Water consumption in copper mining is projected to reach 23.7 m3/s in 2034, with an average annual growth rate of 2.3%. This amount is 30.9% more water being used than recorded in 2022.
• Concentration plants will represent 82.9% of total water consumption on mine sites. The projection is a reflection, in part, of the change in production matric towards sulfides, which are process through flotations, a more water intensive process.
• The expected production of concentrates is expected to increase by 44.1% by 2034, compared to the actual production of 2022, which comes hand in hand with a significant increase in the processing of sulfide minerals in concentration plants, which is expected to increase from 657.9 million tons in 2022 to 1,014.6 million tons by 2034, which corresponds to a growth of 54.2%.

Increasing Usage of Seawater and the decreasing usage of Continental water

• Currently, the copper mining industry uses 37.2% of seawater for its production processes and it is projected that in 2034 this will double, increasing to 69.8% of the total water it uses.
• By 2034, 16.53 m³/s. of water will be sourced from seawater, a 157% increase from 2022. Growth will come from the construction of new desalination plants, increases to existing plants capacity of liters per second, and lastly, the direct use of seawater in production processes.
• With the increase of seawater being used, the use of continental water is expected to decrease significantly by 2034 reaching 7.15 m³/s, a decrease of 39% compared to the actual consumption of continental water in 2022.
• To date, of the 24 desalination plants that exist, 17 are intended only for mining, and of them, 14 are in effective operation. By the end of the decade, there is expected to the 34 plants in total operating in Chile.

Conclusion

Chile’s water usage is expected to increase significantly due in part to the change of the production matrix towards sulfur minerals, which are processed through flotation, a more intensive process in the use of water. In addition, lower ore quality means miners will need to process more material to maintain the level of production, resulting in increased water usage.

While miners are being proactive trying to increase efficiencies in their operations, recycling water, and moving towards direct seawater usage, the reality is that desalination will play a major part in the Chilean mining industry moving forward.

This approach reduces competition for water resources with local communities and other industries, mitigating potential social conflicts. However, it is essential that these desalination projects are sustainable, incorporating technologies that minimize their environmental impact.

For suppliers, there is a huge opportunity to provide technologies and services that help mining companies with their water usage, water monitoring, and reducing water usage in existing processes.

• Ore Sorting – New technologies that allow miners to identify the levels of ore before it is processed. This will allow operatios to discard material that falls below the specified limit. Using this technology significantly reduces unnecessary processing volumes, reduces costs, and provides proportional water savings.
• Coarser particle flotation – Specialists have developed various options for flotation technologies that allow two to three times larger granules to float to the surface than was previously possible. The ore obtained in this way contains large particles, sticks together less, is more easily shed of water, and can be recycled in a larger volume. As a result, water consumption can be reduced by more than 20%.
• Dry disposal – Traditional tailings dams contain waste with a high-water content. New dry disposal technologies allow for pressing and filtering waste, removing water that is in turn recycled to the plant. Some estimate that it can reduce water consumption by 50% when paired with course particle flotation.
• Dust Control – Dust suppression is needed throughout a mining operation, where generaly chemicals are added to water, and it is spread throughout the mine site. Water can be lost to evaporation or need to be repeatedly applied to have the same effect.
• Heap Leaching – New and more efficient heap leaching process can be created that will reduce evaporation from the leaching heaps.
• Concentration plant – The highest water usage comes from this part of the mining process. This is a place where sensors, software, and AI will help optimise these processes with the goal of minimizing inputs such as water. Recycling water from other areas and being able to reuse it in the concentrator will be highly important.
• Smelting and Refining – A sulfide solution is applied to create high purity copper concentrate is another area where water consumption could be assisted by new technologies.

Even as desalination plants or direct seawater becomes part of almost every major mining operation in Chile, there is a significant cost for miners to desalinate water and then transport it to site. For this reason, suppliers who can show that their solutions will help reduce water consumption will have a major selling point for Chilean miners.

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