Centinela, the copper mining unit of Chile-based, London-listed Antofagasta plc has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with ENGIE Energía Chile S.A. for the supply of renewable power effective from 2022 until 2033. The entire power supply under the Agreement will be from renewable sources, according to Creamer Media’s Engineering News.
The Centinela copper mine is located 1350 km north of Santiago, in the Antofagasta region.
Under the agreement, Centinela will sell its 40% indirect interest in the Hornitos thermal power station to ENGIE. The transaction will result in an attributable post-tax writedown of about $43-million for Antofagasta.
Further, Centinela will also cancel two existing PPAs which were due to expire in 2026 and 2027.
Centinela’s power costs will start to significantly decline from 2020 onwards as a result of these arrangements. These would be “value accretive” even after considering the Hornitos power station writedown.
Antofagasta’s CEO, Iván Arriagada said in a statement: “With the completion of this agreement, from 2022 all our mining division’s power will be from renewable sources and at a lower cost as well. This is an important step in achieving our target to reduce our carbon emissions by 300,000 tonnes by 2022.”
Read the Creamer Media’s Engineering News article HERE.
Image Source of Centinela: Antofagasta Plc