Chile is close to reaching a consensus on how much to increase royalties in the mining sector, Mines Minister Marcela Hernando said on Tuesday, a move that could have a significant impact on big miners such as BHP and Antofagasta.
Discussions have taken position with the Finance Ministry about the government’s intention to generate more profits for the country through mining, Hernando said on one occasion in London at the LME Week industry meeting, giving details.
Last week, BHP and Antofagasta declared a bill on mining royalties worldwide. 1 Copper manufacturer would increase competitiveness and inspire miners to reevaluate their investments.
Hernando said the government needs to increase royalties more or less at the levels seen in OECD countries, but at the same time it is vital that the country remains competitive.
Chile is also looking for a spouse with green generation to extract lithium as the country creates a national company, he said.
The government of President Gabriel Boric has promised that the commercial and operational style of a national lithium company will be in place until the end of the year.
Chile is the world’s second-largest producer of lithium, but there has been no government production of the key steel for electric vehicle batteries, copper, in which state-owned Codelco has a strong presence.
Hernando also reiterated that Boric’s leftist government did not aim to nationalize the mining sector, even as it sought to increase mining’s contribution to society.
(By Eric Onstad; Editing by David Holmes)
It seems that for Sonami, the only way to measure a country’s competitiveness is the amount of minerals produced. But the facet of competitiveness is how the price of mineral production is distributed among citizens. In Chile, the government seeks to be more competitive in this regard, as is already the case in Canada, Australia and the EU.