The Los Pelambres deposit, located 200km north of Santiago and 45km east of Salamanca in Choapa Province, Today's project, the world's fifth-largest copper mine, was started by Antofagasta Holdings in the 1990s. In late 1997, Antofagasta sold a 25% stake in Minera Los Pelambres to one Japanese consortium and a 15% holding to another. The mine is an open pit sized 2.5km x 2.2km at surface, which is at an altitude of 3,100m above sea level (asl)