LOS PELAMBRES MINE – The global fight against climate change will boost demand for copper, a key metal used in the production of electric vehicles, Antofagasta chairperson Jean-Paul Luksic said on Wednesday.
Luksic, speaking to reporters at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in north-central Chile, said the global "green economy" would put Chile, the world´s top producer of the red metal, at a strategic advantage over the competition.
"We´re the world's top producers of copper, but also ... we have the world´s largest known reserves," he said.
Luksic added that Antofagasta had committed to reducing its production of greenhouse gases by 300 000 t by 2022, and said the company was shifting its energy supply to more renewable sources in order to achieve that goal.
Antofagasta began construction of a major infrastructure project at Los Pelambres on Wednesday, which the company said would allow it to boost production by 15%.