Capstone Announces $3 Billion Plan to Double Chilean Copper Output by 2031
Key Facts
Capstone Copper announced on Monday, October 26, a $3 billion investment plan in Chile’s Atacama region, saying the related projects are expected to double its copper output in the country by 2031. The company is dividing the spending between the Santo Domingo project and two near-term initiatives at the Mantoverde mine, according to a Reuters report published by Mining Weekly. The plan combines development of a new project with efforts to improve output at existing mines. But Santo Domingo has yet to reach a final investment decision, making financing and completion of detailed engineering key steps before execution can begin. The figures come as the company reported strong second-quarter financial results, despite lower copper production than in the same period a year earlier.
Of the total plan, Capstone allocated $2.3 billion to Santo Domingo and $220 million to two near-term initiatives at Mantoverde, according to the Reuters report. That split places the new project at the center of the announced spending, while the initiatives at the existing mine target nearer-term improvements. Sources have not established that the plan includes a specific integration of infrastructure and operations between the sites; the company says the region offers opportunities for operational synergies and infrastructure capital savings. The announcement details also did not directly link the plan to rising global copper demand. The company’s announcement therefore centers on the spending, its components and the targeted production increase.
Santo Domingo is a copper and iron project in Atacama, located about 35 kilometres northeast of the Mantoverde mine and 130 kilometres north-northeast of the city of Copiapó, according to Capstone data. The company estimates annual production of about 106,000 tonnes of copper during the first seven years of the mine plan, with a mine life of more than 19 years. Chile’s Ministry of Mining said construction of the project could require more than 8,000 workers at peak. This gives the project a long-term operating scale, along with a potential employment impact during construction. However, the company says that despite being fully permitted, the project is still preparing for a final investment decision as it assesses financing options and advances detailed engineering.
At Mantoverde, the Mantoverde Optimized expansion aims to increase the concentrator’s processing capacity from 32,000 to 45,000 tonnes of ore per day. Capstone estimates the increase could enable about 20,000 additional tonnes of copper and 6,000 ounces of gold annually. The Pyrite Enhancement initiative, meanwhile, is expected by the company to cut sulfuric acid consumption by about 20% and increase copper cathode production by about 3,500 tonnes annually. The company said completion of this initiative is expected in early 2028. These figures place Mantoverde’s improvements among the plan’s elements that can add production alongside Santo Domingo’s development.
Capstone’s second-quarter 2026 results show a mixed financial and operating backdrop: revenue rose to $739.7 million from $543.2 million in the second quarter of 2025, while consolidated copper production fell to 51,759 tonnes from 57,416 tonnes. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $354 million, compared with $215.6 million in the corresponding period, marking a record for the seventh consecutive quarter. As part of its broader growth trajectory, the company said its permitted projects provide a path to annual copper production of about 375,000 tonnes. In the market, the daily copper price in EL7 data closed at 6.542 on October 26, then 6.62 on October 27; the data do not establish that the plan announcement caused this move.
The next step for Santo Domingo remains a final investment decision. Capstone said in its second-quarter results that the decision is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, with financing and detailed engineering work continuing. This timing is consistent with the company’s project page describing it as preparing for an investment decision, rather than having entered the construction phase. If the announced plan proceeds, the company is targeting a doubling of its Chilean output by 2031, while its goal of reaching about 375,000 tonnes annually remains tied to permitted growth projects. The two Mantoverde initiatives offer specific operating additions, while Santo Domingo remains the largest component of the announced spending.