Codelco chooses Elecmetal for Talleres

Chile's state copper corporation Codelco has selected local metals and mining services company Elecmetal as the winner of an auction for a 60% stake in its workshop division known as Talleres, Codelco said in a statement. Elecmetal bid US$9.23mn for the share, and was the only company to submit an offer, the statement said. Eleven companies had purchased the bidding rules at 1mn pesos or some US$1,600 apiece, it was reported previously. Apart from Elecmetal, a major competitor of Talleres and part of the Claro group, others said to have bought the rules were Belgian-owned Proacer, Aceros Chile - a subsidiary of Argentina's Cartelloni - and Vulco. Last year Talleres registered sales of US$17mn, and expects to bring in at least as much this year. Apart from servicing Codelco's mining and processing equipment, the division serves other Chilean and international clients in the mining industry. Talleres requires some US$5mn-7mn in investments to modernize its equipment, general manager Carlos Salazar was quoted as saying in local newspapers. Talleres was created in 1992 and is based in Rancagua, 80km south of capital Santiago, near Codelco's El Teniente division.