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Representatives from the world’s biggest copper producers had reason to celebrate when they convened in Santiago on April 15-17 for their annual confab. Global prices for the metal have climbed about 6% over the past year, while those for lithium and nickel have taken double-digit dives. All three have starring roles in the energy transition, the race to wean economies off planet-warming fossil fuels.
More than a century of commercial production reduced the amount of ore that can profitably be extracted from the surface, so two decades ago state-run Codelco began drawing up plans to build a modern underground mine at the site to tap the riches deep below. The company originally envisioned a $2 billion investment. By the time its board signed off on the project in 2014, the budget had risen to $4.2 billion. At the time of the 2019 ribbon-cutting, it had climbed to $5.5 billion.
Other miners operating in Chile have run into difficulties on projects designed to extend the profitable life of their assets. Teck Resources Ltd.’s expansion of its Quebrada Blanca copper mine came in at $4 billion over budget. Anglo American Plc has spent at least 14 years doing environmental studies and other paperwork for an around $3 billion overhaul of Los Bronces, its flagship mine in Chile.
Miners often complain that mountains of red tape are choking development. “It’s permitting gone mad,” says Roque Benavides, chairman of Buenaventura, whose company is active in Peru. In Chile, Peru and elsewhere, major producers have lobbied strenuously for streamlined regulatory frameworks, touting their shift to cleaner and more socially inclusive practices as proof that the industry is moving past its history of environmental damage and ill treatment of local communities.
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