Antofagasta PLC – copper growth delivery going hand in hand with innovation
In the presentation for its full year 2025 results, Antofagasta PLC said that innovation increases its growth optionality, with multiple opportunities to increase efficiencies and operating scale, as mining operations require increasingly complex management. It gave some examples of the progress it has already made – fleet autonomy was deployed at Centinela from 2021, plus the miner began utilising Integrated Remote Operating Centres from 2023.
Looking ahead it said studies are underway for potential deployment of other in-pit (electric rail haulage and vertical conveyors) and ex-pit technologies (long
distance road haulage). And in its just published full annual and sustainability reports for 2025, it gave further examples of innovation. These include the trolley assist trial at Los Pelambres being advanced with Komatsu and ABB – integrating the Power Agnostic 930E haul truck with ABB Automation’s e-Mine trolley-assist system.
In the report, Jean-Paul Luksic AMSA Chairman said: “We continue to focus on innovation initiatives that strengthen our competitiveness and resilience throughout the cycle such as automation, digitalisation, integrated remote operating centres and advanced analytics, to improve safety, productivity and cost stability.”
In his statement, AMSA CEO Iván Arriagada added: “Innovation remains a key enabler of our operating model and future growth. Through the expansion of the operating model for our Integrated Remote Operating Centres in 2025, we are improving performance through real-time monitoring, advanced analytics and broader integration of operational data across a wider range of activities. Predictive maintenance initiatives are helping to reduce unplanned downtime and improve process stability at our concentrators.”
There are numerous examples in its concentrator (and mining) operations of AMSA’s use of AI via different modules of its SIRO (Integrated System of Operational Recommendations). For example, this was deployed at Los Pelambres’ SAG mill in 2025, with the aim of optimising grinding by identifying and minimising operational constraints. The system’s machine learning increased unconstrained SAG mill operating hours by approximately 4% compared to 2024, directly boosting throughput and reducing process variability. SAG mill availability during the year reached 94.4%. These improvements contributed to higher copper output and more stable operations, while also supporting predictive maintenance and asset reliability.
In 2025, Centinela also implemented an SIRO treatment system (MINCO) to optimise concentrator operations. This advanced platform uses historical process data and mineralogical characteristics to generate prescriptive recommendations for grinding and flotation. By integrating real-time analytics, SIRO MINCO has enabled operators to adjust key parameters, resulting in a 1% increase in throughput and a 0.75 percentage point increase in recoveries. The system also improved process stability and reduced variability, supporting Centinela’s drive towards operational excellence.
In 2025, Antucoya fully deployed the SIRO Ácido platform, integrating real-time ore characterisation and leaching optimisation across its operation. This digital innovation, previously known as Mineral Tracker 2.0, enabled a 0.8 percentage point increase in copper recovery, while also saving more than 1,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid, and reducing water consumption by 5% (compared to 2024). The system’s predictive analytics improved ore stacking and irrigation strategies,
supporting a 1-2 percentage point increase in recovery rates. These achievements demonstrate Antucoya’s commitment to operational excellence and sustainable resource use.
Looking again at open pit mining, back in February 2026, Minera Centinela achieved two significant milestones related to its expansion project: it began operating an initial fleet of six autonomous trucks at the Encuentro Sulfuros open pit mine and energised the DMC electrical substation, crucial steps to ensure the commissioning of its second concentrator plant. This will provide the company with minerals to process at the plant currently under construction, as well as the energy needed for its operation. “These steps reinforce our leadership in the mining of the future, based on safety, productivity, and innovation, and at the same time guarantee two fundamental supplies for Minera Centinela’s expansion,” stated the company’s General Manager, Nicolás Rivera.
The Encuentro Sulfuros operation will progressively increase its fleet throughout 2026 to reach 26 units. The trucks themselves were not specified but the company shared an image from the project of an autonomous 400 ton (363 t) class Komatsu 980E being loaded by a Komatsu WE2350 wheel loader. In addition to electric and hydraulic shovels, support equipment, and light vehicles, its operation will have a fleet of up to 53 pieces of equipment. This new open pit replicates the Esperanza Sur model, inaugurated in 2023, which until now was Antofagasta Minerals’ first and only fully autonomous open pit and uses a fleet of autonomous 290 t class Komatsu 930E trucks with the Frontrunner AHS system from Komatsu.
At the mining district level, the integration of Esperanza, Esperanza Sur, and Encuentro Sulfuros will allow Minera Centinela to move between 1.2 and 1.5 million tonnes per day, positioning it among the top 15 copper operations in the world and as one of the largest gold producers in the country. The first blast at Encuentro Sulfuros took place in August 2025. This development has an investment of more than US$1 billion, which is added to the US$4.4 billion of the growth project currently under construction, known as Nueva Centinela.
Another recent milestone is the energisation of the DMC electrical substation, supplied by Siemens Energy, which will ensure the supply of energy from renewable sources for the commissioning and operation of the project. “This is an important symbolic moment, because it concentrates the energy for the new plant. It is the result of solid teamwork between operations and the project team,” highlighted Rivera.
Its commissioning took 21.5 months of work by different teams. The Nueva Centinela Project Manager, Carlos Ruiz, praised the safety performance during that stage, which “reflects rigorous planning and a strong commitment to safety as a core value, achieving a successful handover to operations.” The DMC electrical substation, which has a capacity of 120 MVA (Megavolt-Amperes), receives energy at 220 kV from the Centinela Substation through a transmission line that extends for more than 12 kilometres.
It then transforms the voltage to the 23 kV required for the pre-commissioning, start-up, and operation phases of the new plant. The installation, which has already received authorisation from the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels and the National Electric Coordinator, sets a precedent for the industry by utilising international standards of reliability and resilience, with new technical specifications tested in specialised laboratories in Wuhan, China, under extreme conditions. Another innovation involves the use of 220 kV service station voltage transformers (SSVTs), which allows for a smaller substation design while ensuring high supply reliability.
The expansion process at Minera Centinela has seen other significant progress. By the end of 2025, 32 million work hours had been accumulated without fatalities, 11,500 tons of metal structures had been erected, 8.5 million cubic metres of earth had been moved, and 550 kilometres of electrical cables had been installed – equivalent to the distance of a road trip between the cities of Santiago and Concepción. At the same time, 29 pieces of mining equipment were imported, assembled, and are now operational, along with 11 haul trucks equipped with autonomous operating kits and two electric shovels. During the past year, more than 90% of the mechanical and structural assembly of the primary crusher and critical concentrator equipment was completed, including the two ball mills, the gearless mill drive system (GMD), and the high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR).
In 2025, Centinela introduced a new technology – ShovelSense (supplied by MineSense Technologies) – as a pilot project to help further optimise ore loading, through the use of high-speed X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (XRF). With on the spot ore identification and grade characterisation via deposit-specific algorithms, ShovelSense is a technological solution that helps to identify copper and gold grades (among other elements) during loading operations. By analysing material during loading, operators are able to redirect haul trucks via the Fleet Management System. This approach aims to help reduce ore dilution, and prevent waste from entering the processing plant, as we stop ore being sent to waste dumps. The technology was recently implemented on a second rope shovel at Centinela, along with implementation at Antucoya, helping the Group to realise similar gains across the portfolio.
Orica’s OREPRo 3D is an advanced digital solution being used to optimise blast zoning in open-pit mining operations at Los Pelambres. By integrating geological models, ore characterisation and predictive analytics, OREPro enables greater precision in blast design and zoning, ensuring greater separation of ore and waste during blasting. This approach reduces ore dilution and minimises losses, thereby supporting operating teams to improve recovery rates and efficiencies in downstream processing. Through enhanced material characterisation and blast zoning better aligned with geological variability, OREPro has contributed to the optimisation of the mining process, delivering improvements of approximately 5% in fragmentation indicators. These improvements have supported a more efficient and stable operation, with positive impacts on productivity and operating costs.
A final example from Zaldívar in 2025 was the implementation of Machine Vision, a real-time artificial intelligence system designed to monitor equipment across its critical plant assets. Machine Vision is a technology transfer from Centinela to Zaldívar, whereby cameras are used to monitor the condition of equipment and allow for the early detection of deterioration and potential failure, particularly in heavy-duty, hazardous settings. At Zaldívar, Machine Vision has been deployed to automatically detect cracks in the apron feeders connected to the ore crushing systems, with online monitoring.
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