Environmental Approval

Antofagasta PLC
29 March 2004

                                ANTOFAGASTA PLC



           Approval for Los Pelambres Environmental Impact Assessment



LONDON: 29 March 2004 - Antofagasta plc announces that the Regional Commission
of the Environment (COREMA) for Chile's Fourth Region has approved the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) submitted by Los Pelambres in May 2003.


This approval allows Los Pelambres to exploit up to 2.1 billion tonnes of its
known ore reserves, including permission to construct the proposed El Mauro
tailings dam.  The approval also enables Los Pelambres to consider expansion
alternatives at the Concentrator Plant including an increase in ore processing
capacity up to 175,000 tonnes per day (tpd) compared with the current 120,000
tpd level.



Antofagasta is a Chilean-based copper mining group listed in the United Kingdom.



                                      Ends




Enquiries - London                                    Enquiries - Santiago
Antofagasta plc                                  Antofagasta Minerals S.A.
Tel: [phone]                                  Tel: + 562 377 5000
Philip Adeane                                             Francisco Veloso
Email: [e-mail]            Email: [e-mail]



Hussein Barma
Email: [e-mail]



Issued by Keith Irons
Email: [e-mail]
Tel:  [phone]




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