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Codelco eyeing more output, not competition with BHP, Chile's mining minister states

Chile's staterun copper miner Codelco should concentrate on enhancing its production, however it has a global status that would not be tarnished if it cedes its role as Chile's leading producer to competing BHP, Mining Minister Aurora Williams stated on Thursday.

Codelco, the world's largest copper producer and a sign of nationwide pride, is intending this year to reverse 2 years of falling production in a quote to not only enhance profits but also buttress Chile's sway over international markets.

That strategy has been complicated as cost overruns and hold-ups, including mishaps, have dogged maintenance and growth jobs.

While Codelco satisfied its first-quarter production target, April's numbers likely will be a little bit low, Williams stated, after an employee passed away in an accident at the business's Radomiro Tomic mine, shuttering production for a few days.

Codelco produced 1.42 million metric lots of copper in 2023, while the mines in Chile operated by Australian miner BHP, including Escondida, the world's most significant copper mine that it co-owns with Rio Tinto and Japan's JECO Corp, produced 1.39 million heaps.

The 50-year-old Codelco represent about a quarter of total copper output in Chile.

I don't think that simply one component - production - might at some point detract from Codelco's prestige, Williams informed in an interview, when inquired about the potential fallout of Codelco being displaced by BHP. Outdoors Chile, to speak about Codelco is to speak about a benchmark in mining.

President Gabriel Boric on Wednesday informed almost 2,000 guests at a significant copper industry conference that he expected Codelco's output to rebound this year.

Williams said she was likewise helpful of BHP increasing production, keeping in mind that Escondida alone produces more than 1 million lots of copper a year.

This is more than a competition. It's about producing properly and developing the mining sector, she stated.

Together with that goal, Chile intends to support new jobs through faster permitting processes, and wants to increase production of the battery metal lithium, which is currently just extracted by two companies in the nation.

Saudi Arabia's embassy in Santiago approached the ministry about hosting a delegation from the Middle Eastern country later this year to discuss prospective financial investments in Chile's mining sector, said Rodrigo Urquiza, the ministry's head of international affairs.

Williams declined to be more particular about which metals could be of interest to Saudi Arabia.

BRAND-NEW INNOVATIONS

On lithium, Williams stated that the Boric administration had no plans to mandate a specific kind of direct lithium extraction ( DLE) technology for personal companies that aims to draw out the battery metal from the country's salt flats.

Boric in 2015 announced an ambitious strategy to phase out evaporation ponds, typically used to eliminate the metal from brine, and need using DLE throughout the country, which has the world's biggest lithium reserves.

For us, it's implicit that lithium development has to come with new innovations, Williams stated.

She unveiled a process previously today to obtain personal interest in advancement of the country's salt flats. As part of the application procedure, the ministry is asking candidates what kind of DLE they would use.

There is no single dish here, due to the fact that the salt flats are various, she said.