List of copper smelters in Chile

View of Codelco's Fundición Caletones smelter as of 2015 that serves El Teniente mine.

The following is a list of copper smelters in Chile that have been active at some point after 1950.

Chile is the world's largest producer of copper[1] and activity provides a substantial part of the Chilean state's revenue: slightly less than 6% in 2020, with state-owned copper company Codelco alone generating 2.6% of state revenue.[2][A] In 2024 copper processed in Chilean copper smelters made up 33% of the value of Chilean mining products exports while unrefined copper concentrate represented 50.9% of the value of Chilean mining exports.[3] Since the 1990s no new copper smelters have been built in Chile.[4]

Copper smelters that serves a specific mine is called integrated smelters. A custom copper smelter is one receiving or open to receive ores from multiple mines. Thus, these smelters tend to be less fine-tuned than smelters integrated with specific mines. Custom smelters tend also to be located at strategic locations, such as near port facilities or at important crossroads in mining districts.[5]

Copper smelters in Chile
Name Type Region Year of
opening		 Capacity
kTon/year as of 2015		 Commentary
Fundición Altonorte Custom Antofagasta 1993 350 Fundición Altonorte is a copper smelter plant in La Negra, 25 km southeast of the city of Antofagasta in northern Chile. Owned by Glencore.[6]
Fundición Caletones Integrated–El Teniente O'Higgins 1922 400 It is owned by Codelco and serves the mine of El Teniente.[7] The smelter is the birthplace of the Teniente Converter technology, the first of which begun operations in 1977.[8]
Fundición Chagres Integrated–El Soldado Valparaíso 1917 140 It is majority-owned by Anglo American Sur.[5] It lies at 400 meters above sea level and reported to produce 110,100 tons of copper anodes in 2023.[9]
Fundición Chuquicamata Integrated–Chuquicamata Antofagasta 1952 450 It is owned by Codelco and serves the mine of Chuquicamata.[10]
Fundición Paipote Custom Atacama 1952 84[B] Fundicón Paipote is a copper smelter plant owned by ENAMI near Copiapó. The smelter has been paralyzed since February 2024 for a major overhaul.[12][13] At the time of paralization the smelter generated economic losses for ENAMI.[12]
Fundición Potrerillos Integrated–El Salvador Atacama 1928 177 It is owned by Codelco and serves El Salvador mine.[5][14] In the early 2020s Codelco has recognised limited automation and increased environmental regulations as challenges for the viability of Fundición Potrerillos.[15]
Fundición Ventanas Custom Valparaíso 1964 105 Fundición Ventanas was a copper smelter plant in Quintero, Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is owned by Codelco and was formerly owned by ENAMI. It closed permanently in 2023.[16][17][18]

Notes

  1. ^ From 2001 to 2014 Codelco alone stood for 10% of the state's income.[2]
  2. ^ A USD 1,700 million overhaul plan consider a new cathode production capacity of 240 million tons per year.[11] Up to February 2024 it had production capacity of 84 million tons annually.[5]

References

  1. ^ Copper production in 2024 by USGS
  2. ^ a b Corvera Vergara, María Teresa (2021-06-02). Aporte de la minería del cobre a las arcas fiscales: Proyección para el año 2021 (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile.
  3. ^ Becerra, Mauricio (2025-02-19). "Concentrados vuelven a superar exportación de cobre refinado en Chile". El Ciudadano (in Spanish).
  4. ^ "Una nueva fundición para Chile. Posible y necesaria". CESCO (in Spanish). 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  5. ^ a b c d Costabal M., Francisco (2015-06-10). Fundiciones de Cobre en Chile (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). SONAMI. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  6. ^ "Altonorte". Consejo Minero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  7. ^ Devia et al. 2019, p. 109.
  8. ^ Devia et al. 2019, p. 110.
  9. ^ "Chagres". Consejo Minero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  10. ^ "Fundición Chuquicamata celebró sus 60 años". Minería Chilena (in Spanish). 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  11. ^ "Enami avanza en proyecto de nueva Fundición de Paipote". Revista Nueva Mineria y Energía (in Spanish). 2025-08-07. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
  12. ^ a b "ENAMI cierra 2024 con utilidades y proyecta un 2025 con resultados positivos". Minería y Futuro (in Spanish). 2025-02-06. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  13. ^ Ibarra, Valeria (2024-02-13). "Fin de una era: Fundición Paipote de Enami produjo los últimos ánodos de cobre de sus 72 años de vida". Diario Financiero (in Spanish).
  14. ^ Salvador: Fundición de Potrerillos cumplió 75 años de funcionamiento
  15. ^ "Codelco y trabajadores analizan presente y futuro de la Fundición Potrerillos". Portal Minero (in Spanish). 2024-12-30. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
  16. ^ Toro, Daniela; Munita, Ignacia (2022-06-25). "Cierre de fundición Ventanas: El intrincado debate por dónde instalar una nueva planta y los costos asociados". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  17. ^ Reyes, Verónica (2022-07-01). "Codelco fundamenta cierre de Ventanas, pero alude que siempre se les apuntó por sobre otras empresas". Radio Bío-Bío (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  18. ^ Pizzoleo, Javiera (2024-05-31). "Al año del cese de operaciones: Conoce cómo ha ido funcionando el cierre de la Fundición Ventanas". Reporte Minero & Energético (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
Bibliography
  • Devia, Manuel; Parra, Roberto; Queirolo, Claudio; Sánchez, Mario; Wilkomirsky, Igor (2019). "Copper smelting and converting: past and present Chilean developments". Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy. 128 (1–2): 108–116. Bibcode:2019MPEM..128..108D. doi:10.1080/25726641.2018.1542050.
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