BHP’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, said on Tuesday it had dropped plans to continue drawing water from the Atacama salt flat, relieving pressure on the parched desert basin, home to top lithium miners SQM and Albemarle.
BHP has long pumped water from Atacama’s aquifers to feed operations at its sprawling Escondida mine. But shortly after applying to renew those permits in 2017, authorities warned the aquifer was overdrawn, stalling the process.
The global miner said in a statement Tuesday it would now substitute its pumping from Atacama with desalinated water from its coastal Chilean plants