Minera Escondida

Minera Escondida Limitada is a Chilean copper mining company with corporate headquarters in Las Condes.

The company operates in the Región de Antofagasta, the two opencast mines Escondida and Escondida Norte, which aim primarily copper is promoted. It is one of the largest companies in Latin America. Mineras Escondido so according to the company owns the world's largest copper mine (2010).

History

In October 1978, the American J. David Lowell proposed the exploration of porphyry copper deposits between Chuquicamata in the north and El Salvador in the south of the Atacama desert. The two companies Utah de Chile and Getty Mining Inc. (Chile) Inc. founded in 1979 to a joint venture. On 14 March 1981, the workers met with the last scheduled borehole Pozo 6 in 240 meters depth on a copper-containing layer of 52 m thickness, which had a copper content of 1.51 percent. There were more holes and a shaft sunk to narrow down the deposit and to take further samples.

The beginning of the project was in August 1988. To get to the copper ore, 180 million tons of overburden moved. On November 3, 1990, the first ore was processed and delivered at the end of the year. The official opening of the mine Escondida took place on 14 March 1991.

Ownership structure

Minera Escondida is among 57.5 percent of the Australian- British company BHP Billiton to 30 percent of the British company Rio Tinto to 10 percent of the Japanese company JECO Corporation and to 2.5 percent by the International Finance Corporation ( IFC).