Codelco and Pucobre have formed a joint venture (JV) company to develop the Tovaku copper project in northern Chile.
The project is situated around 70km east of Tocopilla in the Antofagasta Region.
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Pucobre will hold a 60% stake in the new entity and Codelco the remaining 40%, extending a partnership that began in 2009.
The official signing took place at Codelco’s headquarters in Santiago. It was attended by Codelco board chairman Bernardo Fontaine and CEO Jorge Gómez, as well as Pucobre vice-president Cristián Arnolds and general manager Sebastián Ríos.
The agreement signals the start of the next phase, which will focus on detailed engineering, securing environmental and sectoral permits, and early construction work.
Gómez said: “Tovaku reflects a project with a clear path and a focus on value creation. The challenge now is to move forward responsibly to transform this resource into new copper production in a safe, competitive and sustainable manner, while also generating employment opportunities and local development.”
The Tovaku project involves an estimated investment of $870m (794.58bn pesos) and is targeting annual production of 46,000t of copper cathodes.
It contains 633 million tonnes of reserves and is expected to operate for 21 years.
Early activities are expected to include site preparation, procurement of major equipment, obtaining critical permits and finalising technical engineering needed to begin construction.
The companies aim to begin production by 2030.
Codelco will provide the mining concessions required for the project, while Pucobre will contribute existing technical studies and finance the development and construction phases.
Under the agreed structure, Codelco will not make any capital contributions and Pucobre will recover its investment through future distributions.
Arnolds said: “Tovaku demonstrates the potential and capacity of Chilean medium-sized mining companies to develop demanding projects. As the Pucobre board, we embrace this challenge, convinced that this alliance with Codelco will create value for both companies and for Chile.”
Tovaku will be developed as an open-pit mine with mineral resources at shallow depths and low acid requirements for processing.
The project will use untreated seawater, aiming to reduce demand for continental water supplies.
These operational factors are expected to support efficiency and reduce the risks typically associated with early mine development.
Earlier this month, Codelco announced the temporary suspension of development and construction work at the Andes Norte project, part of its El Teniente Division in Chile, citing concerns over emerging seismic risks.
