CODELCO: Copper Output Recovery to Start Next Year

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): CODELCO the Chilean state-owned copper producer announced that it expects copper output recovery to commence next year. It must be noted that the company’s copper output had recorded significant decline in 2022 to hit the lowest level in almost 25 years.

The fairly optimistic view was expressed by the company chairman Maximo Pacheco while speaking at a seminar “The Challenges of Codelco: Present and Future”, organized by Clapes UC. He added that 2023 is likely to be the worst year for Codelco over the next five years. It expects the production to register marginal improvement until it hits 1.7 million metric tons by 2030.

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Codelco had recently cut its 2023 production forecast to range between 1.31 million tons and 1.35 million tons.

Pacheco turned down calls for the privatization of the company. It has been state since its origin and being ‘proudly state’ makes it different, he noted.

The company has taken concrete steps to adjust its budget for the projects under development. The unforeseen delay in structural projects under development and their mounting costs have been a great concern for the company in recent times, amidst efforts to compensate for the drops in mineral grades and extend the useful life of its ageing deposits. Any further project delay would be harmful for the company, Pacheco said.