Soaring demand for copper will help drive mergers, BHP CEO says
Demand for copper, a key element in the energy transition, is set to rise by 70% to 100% by 2050, Mike Henry said
SANTIAGO, July 16 (Reuters) – Chile’s state-run mining company Codelco, one of the world’s largest copper miners, will post earnings of “much more than $1 billion” this year, chief executive Nelson Pizarro told local newspaper El Mercurio in an article published on Sunday.
The company will also revive a workers’ severance compensation plan in August with the aim of reducing headcount at its Andina and El Teniente mines by about 300, as part of its plans to reduce costs, Pizarro said.
Codelco, which sends all its profits to state coffers, posted a larger profit in the first quarter of 2017 than in all of 2016 as a result of a strict policy of containing costs and a modest recovery in global prices for the red metal.
Pizarro added that Codelco was making progress on international projects, including a plan in Ecuador. The company is analyzing other markets including Mongolia, he said. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
