Chile's Codelco to consider asset sales, partnerships in investment review
VALPARAISO, Chile - Chile's State-owned Codelco, one of the world's largest copper producers, will consider asset sales and partnerships as part of a broader review of its investment priorities, chairperson Bernardo Fontaine said on Wednesday.
Whether the company should sell assets has been debated for years, with successive leadership teams taking differing views.
The move could mark a shift under Fontaine's new leadership of the miner, which transfers its profits to the state and has long argued that the policy has constrained investment and contributed to its debt burden.
Codelco is under pressure from the government of President Jose Antonio Kast, who appointed Fontaine as chairperson, after an internal audit uncovered irregularities in last year's production reporting. The company is also trying to recover from a sharp downturn in 2022 and 2023, when copper output fell to its lowest level in two decades.
"We have been making progress on a comprehensive review of the company's situation, which is ongoing and will take about three to four months to complete the full diagnosis and the improvement plan," Fontaine told a lower-house congressional committee.
As part of that process, Codelco will decide whether to proceed with or postpone certain investments and assess its portfolio to determine whether it should retain all of its assets or seek sales or partnerships, Fontaine said.
Codelco operates some of Chile's biggest copper mines, including Chuquicamata and El Teniente. It also holds partial ownership of several others, including 49% in El Abra alongside Freeport-McMoRan and 10% in Quebrada Blanca with Teck.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
For over 60 years, VEGA has provided industry-leading products for the measurement of level, density, weight and pressure. As the inventor of the...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Design, Construction and Maintenance of Site Erected, Welded Bulk Storage Tanks for the Petrochemical, LNG, Ammonia and Sustainable fuel Sectors.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
