World's Largest Copper Producer Plans $15 Billion Expansion

April 7, 2010
Projects include the Ministro Hales mine in northern Chile which is slated to start in 2013 with production estimated at 170,000 tons per year

Chile's state-owned mining group Codelco announced plans on April 7 to invest $15 billion in new projects to expand production over the next five years.

"This amounts to around three billion dollars in investments per year in each of the next five years," Codelco executive president Jose Pablo Arellano said at the World Copper Conference in the Chilean capital.

"These are projects that Codelco is developing in all its divisions, its development for the next 30 or 40 years."

He said the projects include the Ministro Hales mine in northern Chile, a project slated to start in 2013 with production estimated at 170,000 tons per year.

Codelco also plans an underground operation at its Chuquicamata mine, which is now the world's largest open-pit copper mine, Arellano said.

A new level of operations is planned at the El Teniente mine, which is believed to be the world's biggest underground copper mine, according to Codelco, which also is eyeing expansion of its Andina mine.

Arellano said the expansion plans come after a record $2.1 billion was invested in 2009 by the company.

Chile is the world's largest producer of copper, accounting for an estimated 33% of world supply, of which one third comes from Codelco.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

How to Build Zero-Cost On-Site Solar and Storage Projects

Nov. 25, 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act offers tax credits, incentives, and financing that enable no-cost projects. In Enel’s eBook, discover the critical role that incentives play in your...

Process Mining For Dummies

Nov. 19, 2023
Here it is. Everything you need to know about process mining in a single book, written in the easy-to-understand, hard-to-forget style that ‘For Dummies’ manages so effortlessly...

Gain a competitive edge with real-world lessons on private 5G networks

Nov. 16, 2023
The use of private networks in manufacturing applications is rapidly growing. In this paper, we present valuable insights and lessons learned from the field with the goal of enhancing...

Decarbonization Navigator: A Toolkit for Organizations

Sept. 28, 2023
The increasing urgency of addressing climate change along with stakeholder pressures are driving the need for organizations to prioritize decarbonization. Discover how to start...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!