Chilean copper miner Antofagasta is renegotiating its long-term energy contracts to increase renewables as the cost of solar and wind continues to fall, CEO Ivan Arriagada told Reuters. While some of the firm’s energy contracts won’t expire for another three to five years, they allow for renegotiation if market conditions change.
Conditions have certainly been changing. While Chilean mines have historically been dependent on coal and gas, a bevy of renewable energy projects implemented since 2014 has mainstreamed the technology and lowered prices.
The company aims to duplicate Antofagasta’s success at its top-producing Los Pelambres mine in northern Chile, which relies on renewables for nearly 45 percent of its power.
“Going forward, we will prefer non-conventional renewable sources, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we surpassed 50 percent, though we don’t have a specific goal,” Arriagada stated.
Read the full article at Reuters.