Chile cuts forecast for mining investments to $69 billion through 2030

Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco said on Monday that the country should receive $68.9 billion in mining investments through the end of the decade, down 6.9% from the previous forecast as two projects were removed from the pipeline.

Five new mining projects were added, Cochilco said, involving copper, gold, iron and industrial minerals.

Some 27.8% of the pipeline’s value will be focused on state-owned miners Codelco and Enami, and the vast majority of the funds will be put into copper mining. Chile is the world’s top producer of the red metal.

Codelco pushed back to 2035 the beginning of operations of its $3.2 billion Expansion Andina copper project. It also cut investment costs worth $1.95 billion.

Neighboring Peru, the world’s No. 2 copper producer, has a mining projects pipeline estimated by the government to be worth about $50 billion.

(By Fabian Cambero; Editing by David Gregorio)