Codelco chairman Maximo Pacheco said on Thursday that the state-run copper giant expects production this year to outdo 2023, with recovery expected in the second half of the year.
“We have reaffirmed our commitment for 2024 production to surpass 2023,” he said.
After years of sliding production at the world’s top copper producer, Codelco is behind target for production in 2024, and analysts say it faces an uphill battle to make up lost ground with a second-half turnaround.
Pacheco said several elements were in Codelco’s favor for the rest of the year – maintenance work was finished, new projects were going online, the company had a solid budget and the kinds of weather-related impacts from earlier this year were not anticipated.
“I’ve always thought that the second half of the year was the half when we would start to see recovery, compared to the second half of last year,” he told reporters at an event.
Speaking about Codelco’s efforts to enter the lithium industry, he added that the company’s search for a partner for a major new project in the Maricunga salt flat was going well.
Out of 52 companies invited to submit proposals, more than half so far have agreed to enter the process, he said, and are beginning to receive more details about the project from Codelco so that they can develop proposals.
Pacheco declined to name the contenders, but said they were from various countries and represented some of the world’s largest mining companies.