Saturday, April 22, 2023

Chile government says it will reach deal with copper producers before key mining tax vote

Bloomberg News | April 18, 2023 | 

Chile government. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Chile’s government is confident it can smooth out differences with the country’s largest mining companies before a key vote in congress this week on a new mining royalty bill.


The administration of President Gabriel Boric is optimistic over an agreement between Tuesday and Wednesday, Mining Minister Marcela Hernando said at a seminar Tuesday in Santiago.

“We understand that several points of consensus have been reached,” Hernando said.

The comments come after the government presented amendments to the bill on Monday that would lower the maximum tax burden for copper producers to 48% of operating profit, from the 50% previously proposed. This would bring the average tax rate to 42.1% based on prices over the past 10 years, according to previous data presented by Finance Minister Mario Marcel.

Still, there are differences over calculations of the tax burden, with Juan Carlos Guajardo, who heads the consulting firm Plusmining, putting the average nearer 46%.

“The ideal for the mining industry in Chile would be to lower it a few more points,” Guajardo said in a message.

The Senate’s Finance committee will vote on the bill later Tuesday with a vote at the Senate floor scheduled for Wednesday. The bill will then head back to the lower house for a potential final vote.

(By Eduardo Thomson and James Attwood, with assistance from Valentina Fuentes)

Anglo American’s Los Bronces project granted environmental permit

Reuters | April 17, 2023 | 

Near the tailings facility for Los Bronces copper mine in Chile. 
(Image courtesy of Anglo American | Flickr.)

Chile’s ministry of environment on Monday said that a committee of government ministers approved an environmental permit for a $3 billion extension of Anglo American’s Los Bronces project in Chile.


Environmentalists and social groups have criticized the initiative located in the Andes Mountains, near the Chilean capital, for its long-term impact on a nearby glacier, as well as on the area’s water supply.

Last May, the global mining company said it would continue to seek approval for the Los Bronces copper mine after being initially rejected by the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA).

The committee – made up of the ministries of mining, agriculture, energy, economy, and health and chaired by the environment ministry – is not part of the Chilean EAS but has the power to hear and review environmental resolutions.

In a statement, the ministry of environment said the committee approved the permit on the grounds of a series of “demanding” environmental conditions proposed by the company.

The National Mining Society (Sonami) union said the approval would be a “powerful signal” to promote investment in the sector.

The Los Bronces extension seeks to sustain production levels and extend the mine’s life through to 2036, according to the company.

Anglo American said last year that it would supply half of its Los Bronces project with desalinated water from 2025, amid environmental criticism.

The project is part of Anglo American Sur, owned by Anglo American (50.1%), the Codelco-Mitsui consortium (29.5%) and Mitsubishi (20.4%).

Last year, Chilean authorities rejected a project that sought to extend the life of the small El Soldado copper mine, also owned by Anglo American.

(By Fabian Cambero and Isabel Woodford; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Sandra Maler)


Codelco sees new synergies after Anglo American project approval
Reuters | April 18, 2023 |

Andina mine, Chile. Image courtesy of Codelco.

Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, sees greater synergy with its Andina mine and Anglo American’s neighboring Los Bronces mine following an environmental permit approval, the state-owned company’s chief executive said on Tuesday.


A committee of Chilean ministers approved the Los Bronces Integrado environmental permit on Monday, paving the way for a $3.3 billion extension of the project.

“There are always new synergies, mining has dynamics that progress as projects advance,” Codelco’s CEO Andre Sougarret told reporters after a panel at the World Copper Conference in Santiago.

“We are confident that this will generate a positive future for both operations,” he added.

Codelco is a shareholder in Anglo American Sur, which owns Los Bronces.

Conditional measures for the approval of Los Bronces Integrado include a joint study with Codelco’s Andina mine on monitoring particulate matter emissions.

“We have been working on it,” Sougarret said in regards to the monitoring, but did not provide details.

(By Fabian Andrés Cambero and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Marguerita Choy)



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