Chile’s Copper Industry Embraces Circular Economy to Cut Emissions and Conserve Water

Chile’s copper industry has adopted the circular economy model as a way to meet the country’s national mining policy objectives, which include cutting CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and reducing the consumption of continental water to no more than 10% of total water used. To meet these goals, the mining behemoth Antofagasta Minerals has invested over $130 million to convert its Centinela mine to use seawater only, ending the extraction of groundwater. The company’s goal is for 90% of water consumption in all its operations to come from the sea and be recirculated by 2025. Chile’s state-owned mining company Codelco, together with the Alta Ley corporation, the association of industrial mining suppliers (Aprimin) and mining association Sonami, have developed an instrument to measure and manage the carbon footprint of mining suppliers.

Potential environmental impact:

The adoption of the circular economy model in Chile’s copper industry has the potential to significantly reduce the industry’s environmental impact, including the reduction of CO2 emissions and the conservation of water resources. By measuring and managing carbon emissions and water consumption, companies are taking steps to change their production models towards a more circular system.

As the mining industry is still at an early stage of development in terms of the circular economy, it still faces several challenges to internalise it as an operating model and systematically incorporate circularity practices. However, the circular economy model allows improvements in the use of materials, in process times and in the incorporation of technologies, in addition to improving a company’s reputation among local communities, professionals and financial markets. It is necessary to rethink and transform industrial processes, considering measurable objectives and KPIs so that each one can be controlled and managed from the point of view of circularity.