Anglo American Anticipates One-Third Decline in Los Bronces Copper Output

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Anglo American expressed fears that the copper output at its Los Bronces mine in Chile will fall from its average historic levels by almost one-third in 2025. This is mainly on account of planned shutdown of its processing plant for maintenance next year. Earlier, the company had hinted at suspending operations at the plant, but it had not made any disclosure on its impact on production.

The Los Bronces mine is Anglo American’s flagship copper mine that contributes to almost 25% of the company’s global copper output. The maintenance works of the processing plant is expected to take at least a couple of years to complete, said Patricio Hidalgo, CEO of Anglo American.

The suspension of the processing plant will provide the company to carry out necessary preparations for the proposed new extraction phases. These include securing an additional water supply and removal of the tailings dam. The new extraction, expected to start in 2027, will compensate for falling production levels.

Anglo American Sur, the company’s local unit, owns over 50% stake in Los Bronces. A JV between Japanese Mitsui and state-run Chilean miner Codelco owns nearly 30%, while the remaining is held by Japan’s Mitsubishi.

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