This is the biggest mining project in the country, and is located 180 km from Iquique. It is an open cast working, including three separate deposits of copper ore. The ore extraction and treatment processes are carried out using modern technology.

Collahuasi is one of the principal copper producing sites in Chile, with an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons, equivalent to 3% of world production and 10% of the production of Chile.

There are two working areas: Cordillerana and Puerto. The former consists of three mines for ore extraction, up in the Andean Plateau. The port zone is some 60 km from Iquique in Punta Patache and is where the copper concentrate arrives for shipment to its final destination.