The mine is owned by Antofagasta Minerals S.A., the largest private mining group in Chile and one of the nine largest copper-producers in the world.
Under the agreement SunEdison will supply the power produced by the Javiera solar photovoltaic project, with a capacity of 69.5 megawatts (MW) DC, for operations at Los Pelambres mine.
This project demonstrates the competitiveness of solar energy in Chile , especially in the Chilean mining and industry market, where SunEdison has innovated to deliver cost savings by transforming how energy is generated.
Jose Perez , president of SunEdison for Europe , the Middle East , Africa and Latin America , said: "Today an agreement is being signed between two global industry leading companies that believe in a more sustainable future for Chile . This landmark project reinforces SunEdison’s ability to offer competitive, innovative and sustainable energy solutions to its customers and reaffirms SunEdison’s leading role in Latin America."
Los Pelambres general manager Robert Mayne-Nicholls said: "The initiative is in line with our goal to increase sustainability in our power supply mix at competitive prices. When operations began in 2000, we incorporated an energy generation mechanism into our conveyor belts, and as of this year, wind energy contracts. In the near-term, through 2015, we’ll incorporate solar photovoltaic energy and more than 30% of our energy supply will be realized through renewable projects. In the medium-term we will add run-of-the-river hydro-electricity and become a leading mining company in the use of clean sources of energy."
The Javiera power plant, located in the Atacama Region, is already under construction and is expected to be connected to the grid in the first months of 2015.
The project will deliver all its electricity to the Central Interconnected System (SIC) and will supply Los Pelambres, a copper concentrate and molybdenum mine located in the Coquimbo Region. The term of the contract between the two companies is 20 years.
