BHP Group (ASX:BHP) has filed an environmental permit application to reopen the Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile, according to a disclosure on the country's environment regulator website.

The disclosure showed that the investment amount for the development of the project is estimated at $1.5 billion, including a 7.7-year construction phase divided into two periods, a 20-year operational phase, and a 13-year closure phase beginning once the operational phase is completed.

The overall objective of the project is the production of up to 130,000 tons per year of high-purity copper cathodes through the operation of the Cerro Colorado mine over a period of 20 years.

The company's shares fell 1% in recent Thursday trade.