The Candelaria mine is a large open pit and underground copper-gold mine located in northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in the Atacama Region. Candelaria has Proven and Probable Reserves of 676 million tonnes of ore grading 0.53% copper, 0.13 g/t gold, and 1.79 g/t silver; containing 3.58 million tonnes of copper, 3.0 million oz of gold and 39 million oz of silver. The mine project incorporates a

reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane, semi-permeable membrane to separate water molecules from other substances. RO applies pressure to overcome osmotic pressure that favors even distribu ...

plant at the port of

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

, commissioned in 2013, with a capacity to produce 500 litres per second of desalinated industrial water, piping it 115 km from the Pacific Ocean to the minesite. The project was operated since discovery in 1987 by

Phelps Dodge Corporation Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr. and Daniel James (businessman), Daniel James. The latter two ran Phelps, Jame ...

, which was taken over by

Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, a major copper producer and operates the world's la ...

in 2007.

Lundin Mining Lundin Mining Corporation, headquartered in Vancouver, owns and operates mines that produce base metals such as gold, silver, copper, and nickel. The company's major properties are the Candelaria mine (copper; Atacama Region, Chile), a 70% inte ...

bought out Freeport's 80% stake in 2014. Its

tailings In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...

are processed in Planta Magnetita, located inmediately west of the mine pit, for the recovery of iron.

Environmental issues

Candelaria mine has some serious environmental and social issues. On June 12 2019, people in Villa Estadio, a nearby community, have raised safety concerns, especially for children and older people. According to OECD Watch, residents in Villa Estadio have reported property damage, illegal waste disposal, and health problems caused by the mine's activities and possible violations. In 2021, the country's environmental authorities took action against the mine because its blasting increased air pollution, which could harm the health of nearby residents. The mine's activities raised a lot of concerns about

air quality Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

and possible respiratory issues, according to

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. These problems added up have caused frustration and led to protests from the local communities. These ongoing issues have caused growing frustration in the nearby community, and local people are demanding stricter environmental rules and emission regulations. These problems are complicated, telling how mining activities can inevitably affect the local environment and the health of nearby residents. Even though the Candelaria mine is important for Chile's economy since it brings large economic benefits to the country, its negative effects on local communities have led to calls for more responsible mining practices and greater transparency to reduce environmental injustice and social issues.

References

Copper mines in Chile Gold mines in Chile Silver mines in Chile Mines in Atacama Region Sumitomo Group Lundin Mining {{atacama-geo-stub