Chile’s Codelco, the world’s No. 1 copper producer, is expected to generate $13.9 billion in revenue in 2019 while operating costs would be of $9.9 billion. This is according to the budget approved by the Finance Ministry’s Budget Directorate.
Local newspaper La Tercera reported that following a mandatory annual review of all state-owned companies, the Directorate estimated that Codelco’s earnings before tax would be of $2.8 billion and its total profit would be of $512 million. By law, the company is required to hand over all of its profits to the state.
The revised numbers are a direct result of higher copper prices, which are expected to reach $3 per pound in 2019, an increase of $0.5 when compared to the previous year.
According to the new financial plan, Codelco should grow its production in 2019 to 1,730 million tonnes of copper from approximately 1,677 million tonnes of the red metal produced in 2018.
The budget information was released on the same week the Chilean government handed the state miner the remaining $400 million of the $1 billion “extraordinary” capitalization it promised Codelco last year. The cash injection will help support plans to kick off underground operations at the century-old Chuquicamata mine located in the northern part of the country.
Overall, new projects are forecasted to take up to $3.2 billion from Codelco’s coffers.
The state miner also announced that civil engineer Álvaro García will be taking over as the new vice-president of its IT department and will be in charge of leading the company’s digital transformation.
At the Gabriela Mistral division, on the other hand, civil engineer Sergio Herbage will be taken over as general manager, given that his predecessor, Ricardo Montoya, left his post on February 1. The mine is located in the country’s copper-rich northern region of Antofagasta.
There are also changes at the Ministro Hales division, located in Antofagasta as well. Codelco reported that civil engineer Andrés Music was appointed general manager while the person previously occupying the position, Jaime Rivera, was promoted to general manager for the Andean Division.
