BHP bets billions on Chile mines to face global copper crunch
BHP detailed to investors this week plans to spend $10.7 billion to $14.7 billion within about 10 years.
Copper production at Chile’s largest mines was mixed in January, as strong output at state mining giant Codelco was offset by weaker results at the huge Escondida mine, official figures released on Tuesday showed
The state-run Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) reported that production by Codelco, the world’s largest miner of the red metal, rose 19.4% year-on-year to 142,000 tonnes in the month.
Meanwhile at Escondida, the world’s largest copper deposit controlled by BHP, production fell 16.1% year-on-year to 84,700 tonnes.
Collahuasi – a partnership between Glencore and Anglo American along with Japanese companies – posted a 6.5% year-on-year rise in production to 57,000 tonnes.
Chile’s total copper output edged down 0.7% year-on-year in the month to 457,100 tons, Cochilco added.
(By Fabian Cambero and Adam Jourdan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Comments