Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-based MPX Energia S.A., and EBX Group company, and MMX Mineração e Metálicos S.A. announced Thursday that the Comisión Regional de Medio Ambiente (COREMA), the Atacama Region in Chile's regional environmental commission, has authorized the construction of a new port located 80 km to the southwest of the city of Copiapó. The port is licensed to OMX Operaciones Marítimas, also a subsidiary of EBX Group.
The project consists of the construction and operation of a public use port with three independent piers that will allow the loading and unloading of up to 6 million net tons (nt) of coal per year and 10 million nt per year of iron ore, among other products. The port has a natural depth of 25 meters and will also include storage facilities for coal, iron ore, ash, copper and grains, as well as a covered conveyor belt system. The construction of the port is expected to take approximately 30 months to complete, following a total estimated investment of US$ 300 million. The construction schedule of each pier will be adjusted according to the startup dates of MPX and MMX's projects, as well as other projects planned for the region.