In an effort to reduce carbon emissions and water waste at its Los Bronces site in Chile, Anglo American is testing an innovative floating island of solar panels as a potential power generation solution.
The 1,200-square-foot “Las Tortolas” power generating island will be floated in the middle of the mine’s tailings pond, where its shadow is expected to lower the water temperature and reduce evaporation by up to 80 percent.
The reduced water evaporation will enable the mine to retain more of the tailings water for its operations, reducing the need to pump costly fresh water into the arid mountainous region where the mine is located.
This would allow Anglo American to reduce its freshwater consumption at Los Bronces 50 percent by 2030, in addition to lowering the mine’s CO2 emissions by producing renewable energy.
Following a successful test, Anglo American plans to expand the $250,000 plant to cover 40 hectares, or nearly 100 acres.