SANTIAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - Chile needs to speed up

its permitting processes to help copper mining expand ahead of a

large supply gap expected in the coming years, Anglo American

Chile CEO Patricio Hidalgo said on Tuesday.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has pledged to cut the

permitting timeline by a third, yet a reform that would

streamline the process is still under debate in Congress.

Numerous mining companies in Chile, which supplies about a

quarter of the world's copper, have urged a swift passage of the

initiative.

Anglo American, one of the world's biggest miners that was a

takeover target of bigger rival BHP last year, in Chile

operates Los Bronces and owns 44% of Collahuasi, two major

copper mines.

Hidalgo said demand for copper in 2040 was expected to be as

large as 80 Los Bronces mines due to the needs of the energy

transition, emerging economies and digitalization. Los Bronces

produced 172,000 metric tons of copper in 2024.

"When one sees this demand or this structural gap that will

occur in the copper market, we need much more agility to bring

copper to the market," he said.

He also noted the potential for partnerships to help

maximize production, such as Anglo American's recent agreement

to share infrastructure at Los Bronces with the neighboring

Andina mine owned by state-run copper miner Codelco.

The deal, which aims to increase production by 120,000

metric tons a year, was referenced by Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX )

CEO Kathleen Quirk at the CRU copper conference in Santiago on

Tuesday.

"We need to do more of those types of deals where we're

sharing essentially," she told the conference.

Hidalgo said he saw potential for further infrastructure

sharing deals in Chile.

"When you look at the Andean corridor ... you see all the

potential synergies. This is a call to challenge certain

paradigms in the sector."