Collahuasi mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Collahuasi mine | |
| Region | Tarapacá Region |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 20°59′29.19″S 68°38′19″W / 20.9914417°S 68.63861°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper Molybdenum |
| Owner | |
| Company | Anglo American plc (44%) Glencore (44%) Mitsui & Co. (12%) |
The Collahuasi or Ujina mine is a large copper mine located at 4,200 m (13,800 ft) altitude in the north of Chile in the Tarapaca Region. Collahuasi represents one of the largest copper reserves in Chile and in the world having estimated reserves of 3.93 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.66% copper.[1] It lies about 15 km east of the copper mine of Quebrada Blanca.[2]
The mine produced 560,000 tonnes of copper in 2018, making it one of the world's largest copper mines.[3]
The ore concentrate produced in Collahuasi mine contain about 41% chalcopyrite, 18% chalcocite, 16% pyrite and 4% pyrrhotite.[A]
In the 2020s the mine has faced dificulties relating to water scarcity and decreasing ore grades.[5]
An early period of mining in Collahuasi occurred from about 1905 until 1930.[2]
Climate
| Climate data for Collahuasi, elevation 4,800 m (15,700 ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
8.3 (46.9) |
9.3 (48.7) |
9.3 (48.7) |
5.9 (42.6) |
1.9 (35.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
3.9 (39.0) |
4.0 (39.2) |
7.7 (45.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.1 (44.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
1.3 (34.3) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
0.0 (32.0) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−0.8 (30.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.5 (29.3) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−5.7 (21.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5.5 (0.22) |
5.1 (0.20) |
2.5 (0.10) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
4.5 (0.18) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
10.0 (0.39) |
2.5 (0.10) |
0.0 (0.0) |
5.0 (0.20) |
35.1 (1.39) |
| Source: Bioclimatografia de Chile[6] | |||||||||||||
Notes
- ^ When dry and as weight percent.[4]
References
- ^ "Copper mines". angloamerican.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ a b Millán 1996, p. 152.
- ^ "Chile's Collahuasi copper mine expects to match 2018 record output this year – CEO". MINING.COM. 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ Alvear Flores, Gerardo; Risopatrón, Carlos; Pease, Joe (2020). "Processing of Complex Materials in the Copper Industry: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead" (PDF). JOM. 72 (10). doi:10.1007/s11837-020-04255-9.
- ^ "Collahuasi pierde 74 % de utilidades por escasez hídrica y menor ley del cobre". Chile País Minero (in Spanish). 2025-06-30. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
- ^ Hajek, Ernst; Castri, Francesco (1975). "Bioclimatografia de Chile" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- Bibliography
- Millán, Augusto (1996). Evaluación y factibilidad de proyectos mineros (in Spanish). Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 956-11-1241-8.