Friedland says $15,000/t copper price needed to spur new mines

According to the PEA, the post-tax net present value (8% discount) will be $1.1 billion, and the post-tax internal rate of return will be 21%.

The government plans to submit a bill to Congress later this year to create a national lithium company.

Antamina is Peru's largest copper mine and co-owned by Glencore, BHP Group, Teck Resources and Mitsubishi.

Some operations at the El Teniente mine are still paused after heavy rains.

The mining corridor is used by MMG’s Las Bambas, Glencore’s Antapaccay and Hudbay Minerals’ Constancia to transport semi-processed copper to a seaport.

Copper is poised to follow other commodities upended by recent price surges.

Work at the company’s Andina mine is currently suspended, Codelco said.

Without it, taxes on US companies with Chilean operations could climb to more than 44%, the business group said.

Even if more lithium mines are built, there are not enough facilities to produce specialized types of the metal for batteries.