The growth in seawater consumption in the copper mining industry will skyrocket during this decade, reaching 47% of the sector’s water consumption, according to the annual report of the Chilean Copper Commission, Cochilco, on this matter.

As projected by the entity, it is expected that there will be a 9.3% annual increase in the use of this resource, hand in hand with an increase in the construction of desalination plants. In contrast, the consumption of water of continental origin would have a decrease of 6% compared to the expected consumption for 2019.

According to the Minister of Mining, Baldo Prokurica, it is expected that “by 2030, 74% of new projects will be supplied with seawater.”

Likewise, it is expected that 10% of energy consumption in the next decade will be allocated to desalination and impulsion of seawater. As reported by El Mercurio, this process will be the one with the highest energy consumption, only after the concentration of the mineral.

In addition to this report, Cochilco presented its projection of electricity consumption in copper mining between 2019 and 2030, where it was revealed that energy demand will increase 41% in that period, from 23.6 TWh to 33.1 TWh. As published by Pulso, this report estimates that, in order to meet the expected demand, it would be necessary to add an electricity generation capacity of 1,387 MW by 2030.