El Abra Helps Local Independent Miners in Chile With Solar Power Plant

January 18, 2024 - A new solar power plant built with the help of Freeport-McMoRan’s El Abra mine in Chile is providing electricity to about 100 independent miners near the city of Tocopilla, while cutting carbon emissions.

The plant came online at the end of 2023 and has 28 photovoltaic panels and battery storage. This allows it to deliver electricity 24 hours a day, which will promote the shift from fossil fuel power generation to the use of cleaner and more sustainable technologies. The power plant was constructed as part of an agreement between El Abra and the Tocopilla Miners' Association.

The solar station will save the cost of using gasoline generators and reduce area emissions, said Alberto García, association vice president.

The independent miners work on the outskirts of Tocopilla where El Abra is performing baseline studies for a future desalination plant, but do not work for the mine. Beyond its financial contribution, El Abra provided training on how to use and maintain the power plant.

“With this project to build a solar plant, we seek to improve the commercial and business capacity of small miners in Tocopilla,” said Boris Medina, President of El Abra. “El Abra works to deliver tools so that people can improve their productivity and improve their quality of life and that of their families.”

Susana Núñez, a local miner who will benefit from the plant, said the reliable power it provides will make the independent miners in the area more productive while cutting costs.

“Before, due to mechanical issues, we did not have the power to weld, use a grinder, or repair a tool, and taking the tools to Tocopilla was a big expense for us,” Núñez said. “Now, with this benefit, people will be able to come to the site to perform these services.”

Photo: Rodrigo Bustamante, an independent miner in Tocopilla, Chile near El Abra, inspects solar panels built to provide power to independent miners in the region.