Foreign media news on June 5: Japanese miners believe that high taxes in Chile may deter them from investing in new mines, but will not lead to abandoning existing projects, the head of the Japan Mining Association said on Monday.
Chile's Congress finally approved a long-awaited mining tax reform in May, with big copper and lithium producers having to pay the government higher taxes and royalties.
Akira Nozaki said that higher taxes will not cause us to exit existing mines, but may have an impact on new development projects. Akira Nozaki is the president of Sumitomo Metal Corporation.
He added that profit margins would fall due to higher taxes, making it increasingly difficult to develop new mines.
In recent years, two major Japanese miners have decided to reduce their stakes in major copper projects in Chile. JX Nikko Metal Corp plans to sell a majority stake in the Caserones mine, and Sumitomo Metal Mining Corp sold its stake in the Sierra Gorda mine last year.