Chile mining watch: Codelco eyes India, national policy, copper-content products

Codelco

By 2023, Chile’s state copper miner Codelco seeks to quadruple sales in Southeast Asia and India. 

According to newspaper Diario Financiero, Codelco currently sells 25,000t/y of refined copper in Southeast Asia, and US$150-300mn worth of copper concentrates and molybdenum in India, which does not buy refined metal due to taxes of almost 5% on cathodes. 

The company forecasts that in 2030 India will become the third biggest copper consumer in the world, tripling its refined metal requirements to 1.5Mt/y from the current 500,000t, due to renewable energy and electromobility.

In 2019, China, the US and Germany were the biggest copper consumers worldwide with 53.6%, 7.7% and 4.3% of the total, respectively, according to Chile’s copper commission Cochilco. 

National mining policy

Chile’s mining ministry will present this half the country’s national mining policy through 2050, with the final phase of the process starting this month, according to a press release. 

The drawing up of the policy started in 2019, involving more than 3,000 people including authorities, industry representatives, academics, mining workers, communities and indigenous peoples. 

The document will be focused on the improvement of the industry’s regulatory framework as well as the promotion of small and medium-sized mining operations. The development of human capital, how to increase productivity and efficient management of water resources will also feature. 

Copper-based products

Chile nearly tripled exports of copper-content products in 2020 due to the pandemic. 

According to the mining ministry, SMEs exported copper products worth US$937,000 compared with US$345,000 in 2019. Fabrics and supplies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 led the way. 

Twelve SMEs are producing copper-based facemasks, cleaning products, antibacterial gel, wound treatments, cosmetics, chemical additives, polymers as well as resins, and sending them to China, Canada, Peru, Brazil, the US, Spain, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Germany, Belgium, Japan and Turkey. 

"This added value and innovation has generated interest around the world and in [Chile’s export promotion agency] ProChile we are committed to supporting their [SMEs’] internationalization, as they contribute to diversifying and adding value to our exportable offer," said ProChile’s director Lorena Sepúlveda in a release. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, ProChile set up a working group with suppliers of copper-based products to define business opportunities and connect them with buyers abroad.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and last year mining authorities proposed the use of copper nanoparticles in bills and bank cards. 

Photo credit: Chile's mining ministry