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.
Top copper producer Codelco is seeking to mitigate a series of disruptions that’s put one of its investment projects behind schedule and over budget.
The Chilean state-owned firm had envisaged turning its mainly underground Salvador mine into an open pit by first half of 2023 before a fatal accident, pandemic-related disruptions and the firing of the firm contracted to do earthworks. The delays mean production this year will be “almost zero,” Christian Toutin, division head, said in an interview Friday.
Output next year will be close to 70,000 metric tons, reaching maximum rates in the second half of that year and the 90,000-ton design capacity in 2025, he said. The original $1.4 billion price tag will also be exceeded, with management set to come out with a revised budget by end-March.
To mitigate the delays and restrain costs, Salvador has been training staff, refitting used trucks from another mine and plans to appoint a new contracting firm this month.
“We are focused on how we can reposition the project and bring it to fruition in the quickest time possible,” Toutin said.
Codelco and other companies in the industry are running into headwinds at projects needed to maintain output at their aging operations, just as mines get pricier and trickier to build. With Goldman Sachs estimating that miners need to spend about $150 billion in the next decade to overcome an 8 million-ton copper deficit, the latest project constraints support the bullish case for copper.
(By James Attwood)
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