SMM7, 19 March: a new bill has been passed in Chile after Chilean law stipulated that Chilean national copper company (Codelco) needs to spend 10 per cent of its export earnings each year on the building of the national army.
Codelco has invested about $13.7 billion in the Chilean army.
The law has limited Codelco's investment for decades, especially as Codelco is turning the old mines of its Chuquicamata project into modern, semi-automatic mines that cost as much as $5.5 billion.
In April this year, Codelco Chairman Juan Benavides also said that in order to maintain production at the current level, the company needs a lot of money to expand the mine this year and next to improve ore taste, so it needs sufficient financial support from the government, otherwise the company's expansion plan may be affected.
So, including the overhaul of Chuquicamata, Codelco is currently spending $39 billion on a 10-year renovation of the company's mines.
In addition to the need for funds and higher costs for the company, the gradual tightening of environmental requirements is also a reason for the shortage of funds for Codelco.
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