Column: Trump 2.0 won’t reverse Biden’s critical minerals push
Donald Trump has described the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a "green scam" and vowed to repeal it after he returns to the White House in January.
Some of the biggest copper mines in the world are turning to different ways to get their metal to port after an increase in train robberies spurred the suspension of rail services in northern Chile.
BHP Group and Codelco said they have activated their respective contingency plans after rail operator FCAB halted services due to repeated thefts. While neither company gave details, trucking the metal would be the logical alternative.
Heists in the Atacama desert are nothing new — the police set up a special task force in 2018 to stop robbers who target trains that take the red metal from mines high in the Andes mountains to ports. But the suspension of services indicate thefts are on the rise as the economy slows and metal prices remain fairly high.
Transport disruptions in the top copper-producing nation would add to global logistical challenges exposed by the pandemic and exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine.
For now, BHP’s Escondida and Spence mines are running normally. The Melbourne-based company is in constant contact with the rail operator to monitor the situation, it said in a statement Tuesday.
Separately, state-owned Codelco said it’s “applying a contingency plan to give continuity to the transport of supplies and products.”
(By James Attwood)
Comments
Balter
This is nuts: a government that proclaims environmental values cannot maintain the law so that business can use the most efficient form of land transportation… Maybe someone is getting a cut to look the other way?