Introduction
Los Pelambres is an open pit copper mine located in the Andes, 3,600 metres (11,811 feet) above sea level. It is situated close to Los Caimanes community, 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of Salamanca, in Choapa, IV Coquimbo. The residents of Los Caimanes—threatened by the largest tailings dam in Latin America—have been defending their community relentlessly.
Project
The main shareholder of the mine is Antofagasta Holdings, property of the Luksic group. The rest of the investments are Japanese: Nippon Mining and Metals Co. Ltd, Marubeni Corp., Mitsui & Co. Ltd, Mitsubishi Materials Corp., and Mitsubishi Corp. (Mining Technology, 2012). This large-scale copper and molybdenum operation began in 1999, with the expansion of a small-scale enterprise that existed for several years, producing less than 5,000 tons of material. […]
Click here for the factsheet (3 pages): FS_013_Los Pelambres
The project ENVJUSTICE has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 695446)