Chile antitrust watchdog approves Codelco-Anglo American mining plan

SANTIAGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Chile's state copper miner Codelco said on Wednesday its joint mining plan with Anglo American AAL.L at the Andina-Los Bronces project has received a green light from the South American nation's antitrust regulator.

Chile is the world's top producer of copper. Anglo American is a major operator in the Andean country.

"The project continues to advance with its regulatory approval process, while preparations are underway for the environmental permitting process and the establishment of the entity that will coordinate the joint operation," Codelco said.

Competition watchdogs in China, Brazil and South Korea have already approved the project. Remaining steps include environmental permits, the creation of the shared entity and consultations with the local community.

Codelco and Anglo American finalized their agreement to jointly operate their neighboring copper mines last September, a deal that aims at generating at least $5 billion from higher production and cost savings.

The plan looks to bring together certain operations at Codelco's Andina mine and Anglo American's Los Bronces mine in the Andes mountains of central Chile, boosting production by 120,000 metric tons of copper a year.