Foreign media on April 20: Maximo Pacheco, chairman of Chile's state-owned copper giant Codelco, said the company aims to increase its annual production by at least 17% by the end of the decade to meet the exceptionally strong Demand grows.
Copper plays a key role in the global energy transition because it conducts electricity well and is used to make wires, electronics and many consumer goods. Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, has had to contend with declining ore grades and other operational challenges in recent years. Copper production at Codelc fell to 1.45 million tonnes in 2022 and is expected to drop again in 2023.
Pacheco expects Codelco to bounce back this decade, reaching 1.7 million tonnes per year by the end of the decade. Codelco's copper production last touched that level in 2021.
Pacheco told the World Copper Congress in San Diego that the company sought to offset declining ore grades and maintain production levels through "structural projects".
Chilean officials earlier this week approved the expansion of Anglo American's Los Bronces complex, in which Codelco is a minority shareholder. The Los Bronces mine plans to use desalinated water to alleviate the effects of a severe drought that has plagued the country for more than a decade.
Codelco said it looks forward to future synergies and collaborations. Pacheco said the company has established collaborations and partnerships in logistics, transportation and mine development. It will continue to improve in the future.
Pacheco also said plans to expand the El Teniente underground copper mine would be ready by the end of the year.
After troubles in 2022, which included a pit wall failure at the Ministro Hales mine and a dome collapse at the Chuquicamata copper mine, Pacheco expects the company to normalize operations by July.
微信扫一扫打赏
