The Chilean government has given state-owned Codelco $1 billion for 2013, an amount considered to be insufficient by the world’s top copper miner.
As a result, Codelco has scaled down its total planned investment for 2013 by $500 million, from $4.5 to $4.0 billion.
Codelco’s discontent is part of a larger financing issue with which the government is now wrestling. A review of how Codelco is funded, run jointly by the treasury and the mining ministry, is underway:
“We are analysing how we give Codelco money but have not made a decision yet. Problem is, more money to Codelco is less money towards education, infrastructure, etc,” said Chile’s mining minister Hernan de Solminihac from LME week in London.
“We support Codelco’s investments but first Codelco must find money in the private markets, then we’ll provide the money necessary for them to keep their investment grade status.”
