Copper company Hot Chili has announced the establishment of Huasco Water a new joint venture (JV) water company formed to supply sea water and desalinated water to mine developments in a part of the water-stressed Atacama desert.
The water company, a JV with Chilean iron-ore miner Compania Minera del Pacifico (CMP), will supply the Huasco Valley. Hot Chili has outlined about 3 700 l/s of potential future desalinated water demand from new mine developments, as well as other community and industrial sources of demand.
The transfer of water assets into Huasco Water has started and the new water company will soon hold the only active granted maritime water concession and most of the permits to provide noncontinental water supply to the Huasco Valley, following over a decade of permitting advance for Hot Chili’s coastal range, the Costa Fuego copper/gold project.
The project, along with CMP’s Los Colorados iron-ore mine, will be foundational offtakers.
There is an increasing trend in Chile towards outsourcing in the industrial infrastructure sector. Copper major Antofagasta recently sold its water and water rights to the Centinella mine for $600-million to a consortium, which will finance, build, own and operate and sell seawater for the Centinella mine expansion.