Codelco, Pucobre Win Tovaku US$870M Approval

CHILE · COPPER MINING

The Tovaku approval came on Friday 23 October 2026, when the environmental evaluation commission of Chile’s Antofagasta Region voted unanimously to approve the US$870 million copper mine that Pucobre is developing with state-owned Codelco. The project is the first public-private partnership of the Bernardo Fontaine era at Codelco, according to Diario Financiero.

For US readers the vote matters because the United States imports much of the refined copper it uses, and Chile is the world’s largest producer of the metal. A fully permitted mine of 46,000 tonnes a year is small against Chile’s output, but the agency says this review ran far faster than usual.

We covered the August launch of the joint company in Codelco and Pucobre Seal US$870 Million Tovaku Copper Alliance. The new step is the environmental approval, which the companies had listed among the permits still to be won.

What the Commission Decided

The Antofagasta commission approved the environmental impact study for Tovaku at its ordinary session number 15, and the vote was unanimous, according to Diario Financiero, CNN Chile and Revista Nueva Minería. The decision followed a 142-page consolidated evaluation report that the regional office of the evaluation agency SEA published on Thursday 15 October 2026 with a recommendation to approve.

Pucobre filed the study on 23 July 2025, and the review ran through three rounds of questions and three company responses, the last in August 2026, CNN Chile reported. The SEA says the evaluation took about 450 days, roughly 40% of the average for studies approved in 2025, as Diario Financiero reported.

The agency also says it is the fastest approval since 2018 for a study of more than US$500 million, and only the fifth project above US$800 million cleared in under 18 months in a decade. Those comparisons come from the agency as relayed by Diario Financiero, and we could not check them against the agency’s own data.

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What Tovaku Would Build

Tovaku is an open-pit mine on the Puntillas deposit in the communes of Tocopilla and María Elena, planned to run for 21 years and produce 46,000 tonnes of high-purity copper cathodes a year. Over its life the pit would move 970.8 million tonnes of material, of which 633.5 million tonnes is ore, for about 917,457 tonnes of cathodes in total, CNN Chile reported.

Ore would be crushed and leached in heaps, then processed by solvent extraction and electrowinning, a standard method for oxide and sulfate copper. The site also includes a 193 MW solar park with battery storage, a 27-kilometre 220 kV power line and a 72.5-kilometre seawater pipeline from the Tocopilla thermal power station.

Nueva Minería puts the split of the US$870 million at about US$650 million for the mine and US$220 million for the solar plant. Construction would start in the second half of 2027 and last about three years, with up to 984 workers, and operations would need up to 700, according to the SEA report cited by CNN Chile.

The companies are targeting first production in 2030, CNN Chile reported. Nueva Minería stressed that the approval does not by itself start works, which still depend on the other permits and conditions.

Tovaku Approval Comes With Water and Heritage Concerns

The approval came with objections from two state water agencies, CNN Chile reported. In an official letter dated Thursday 22 October 2026, the regional director of the hydraulic works directorate (DOH), Carol Gálvez, said her office did not share the SEA’s view that a specific permit, known as PAS 157, does not apply to three canals that would divert water from natural ravines into other ravines.

“This means that this service cannot favourably endorse the consolidated report of this project,” Gálvez wrote, in our translation of the Spanish quoted by CNN Chile. The regional director of the General Water Directorate (DGA), David Espinoza, said only part of the technical data it requested was supplied and that it could not assert that the works would not affect the life or health of residents.

The DGA also ruled out that the works would pollute water and noted that the SEA decision does not release the company from its sectoral duties. These are the agencies’ positions as quoted by CNN Chile, and we have not seen the letters themselves.

The evaluation also found significant effects on cultural heritage: 118 archaeological finds were recorded, and 63 lie inside the project’s area of influence and would be disturbed during construction. The company committed to permanent archaeological monitoring and rescue of the sites, with aerial and topographic recording of linear features, CNN Chile reported.

The Aymara Indigenous Community of Quillagua, the only Indigenous group identified in the area, raised concern in August 2025 about cultural sites such as the Quebrada del Duende geoglyphs and in November 2025 asked the SEA for an Indigenous consultation, CNN Chile reported. The final report concluded the works would not sit on or near Indigenous groups, so no consultation was held, and the state Indigenous development agency Conadi endorsed the report without comments.

Who Owns Tovaku and Who Pays

The joint company, Minera Puntilla, was set up in August 2026, with Pucobre holding 60% and Codelco 40%, according to Diario Financiero and CNN Chile. Pucobre, formally Sociedad Punta del Cobre, is a mid-sized Chilean copper company.

Codelco contributes the mining concessions, while Pucobre contributes its studies and finances development and construction, CNN Chile reported. Revista Nueva Minería reported at the launch that Codelco would make no cash contribution and that Pucobre’s spending would be recovered from Codelco’s future distributions.

At the August launch Codelco chairman Bernardo Fontaine said such partnerships let the state miner speed up value from its resources with the help of good partners. Our Chile’s State Copper Giant Codelco Explained guide describes the company, and Pucobre’s earnings are in Pucobre First-Half Profit Jumps 79% on Copper Rally.

What It Means for You

For investors, the Tovaku approval removes one large legal hurdle for a project that adds copper cathodes without a cash call on Codelco. It does not remove financing, permit and construction risk, so the 2030 start remains a company target and not a forecast.

For US buyers and manufacturers of copper products, one more permitted source in a major producer country supports medium-term supply, but 46,000 tonnes is a modest addition. Our guides Who Runs Chile’s Economy, the Key Players in 2026 and Chile in Latin America, Its Role, Weight and Alliances place the copper sector in the wider economy.

Travellers and expats in the north will see no direct change soon, since construction is not expected before the second half of 2027. Our Santiago expat city guide covers living in Chile’s capital.

What Is Not Known

We could not open the SEA evaluation file or the company’s own announcement of the approval, so the Tovaku approval rests on three independent Chilean outlets: Diario Financiero, CNN Chile and Revista Nueva Minería. They agree on the vote, the investment, the output and the timeline, and Electrominía also reports the approval.

It is not known whether the DOH and DGA objections, or the Quillagua community’s complaint about the lack of an Indigenous consultation, will lead to challenges against the decision. The sources also do not say when the formal environmental resolution will be issued or how the financing will be arranged.

Sources differ on construction time, with the SEA figures reported by Diario Financiero, CNN Chile and Nueva Minería giving about three years and a company summary reported by Electrominía giving 28 months. The companies’ 2030 production target has not been tested against a financing decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the Chilean commission approve on 23 October?

It unanimously approved the environmental impact study of the Tovaku copper mine of Pucobre and Codelco, an investment of US$870 million. The decision was taken at the Antofagasta Region commission’s ordinary session number 15.

How much copper will Tovaku produce?

The plan is 46,000 tonnes of high-purity copper cathodes a year over a 21-year life. In total that is about 917,457 tonnes of cathodes from 633.5 million tonnes of ore.

Who owns the Tovaku project?

The joint company Minera Puntilla is 60% owned by Pucobre and 40% by Codelco. Pucobre finances development and construction, while Codelco contributes the mining concessions.

When could Tovaku start producing copper?

The companies target 2030, with construction starting in the second half of 2027 and lasting about three years. The approval alone does not start works, which still need other permits and financing.

Why does the Tovaku approval matter for US readers?

The United States imports much of the refined copper it uses, and Chile is the world’s largest producer. A permitted new mine adds medium-term supply, though 46,000 tonnes a year is a modest amount.

Sources: Diario Financiero, 23 October 2026; CNN Chile, 23 October 2026; Revista Nueva Minería, 23 October 2026; Electrominía, 23 October 2026; Revista Nueva Minería, 25 August 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief