Collahuasi mine

The Collahuasi or Ujina mine is a large copper mine located at 4,200 m (13,800 ft) altitude in the north of Chile in the Tarapaca Region. Collahuasi represents one of the largest copper reserves in Chile and in the world having estimated reserves of 3.93 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.66% copper.^[1] It lies about 15 km east of the copper mine of Quebrada Blanca.^[2]

Collahuasi mine

Location
Collahuasi mine
Region	Tarapacá Region
Country	Chile
Coordinates	20°59′29.19″S 68°38′19″W
Production
Products	Copper Molybdenum
Owner
Company	Anglo American plc (44%) Glencore (44%) Mitsui & Co. (12%)

The mine produced 560,000 tonnes of copper in 2018, making it one of the world's largest copper mines.^[3]

The ore concentrate produced in Collahuasi mine contain about 41% chalcopyrite, 18% chalcocite, 16% pyrite and 4% pyrrhotite.^[A]

In the 2020s the mine has faced dificulties relating to water scarcity and decreasing ore grades.^[5]

FCAB ore train crossing the Ascotán salt flat at the mine

An early period of mining in Collahuasi occurred from about 1905 until 1930.^[2]

Climate

Climate data for Collahuasi, elevation 4,800 m (15,700 ft)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	12.2 (54.0)	8.3 (46.9)	9.3 (48.7)	9.3 (48.7)	5.9 (42.6)	1.9 (35.4)	3.0 (37.4)	3.9 (39.0)	4.0 (39.2)	7.7 (45.9)	9.6 (49.3)	10.3 (50.5)	7.1 (44.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	3.5 (38.3)	1.7 (35.1)	1.3 (34.3)	0.6 (33.1)	−2.6 (27.3)	−5.9 (21.4)	−4.0 (24.8)	−3.3 (26.1)	−2.8 (27.0)	−0.9 (30.4)	0.0 (32.0)	2.5 (36.5)	−0.8 (30.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−1.5 (29.3)	−1.4 (29.5)	−3.1 (26.4)	−4.4 (24.1)	−7.0 (19.4)	−10.4 (13.3)	−9.1 (15.6)	−8.3 (17.1)	−8.4 (16.9)	−6.3 (20.7)	−5.7 (21.7)	−2.7 (27.1)	−5.7 (21.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	5.5 (0.22)	5.1 (0.20)	2.5 (0.10)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	4.5 (0.18)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	10.0 (0.39)	2.5 (0.10)	0.0 (0.0)	5.0 (0.20)	35.1 (1.39)
Source: Bioclimatografia de Chile[6]

Notes

1. When dry and as weight percent.^[4]