Codelco Eyes India, Molybdenum and Copper Products

At present, the Chilean National Copper Corporation currently sells 25,000t/y of refined copper in Southeast Asia, and US$150-300mn worth of copper concentrates and molybdenum in India, which does not buy refined metal due to taxes of almost 5% on cathodes. Therefore, it does not export refined copper to India. Codelco hopes to quadruple its exports to Southeast Asia and India.

Codelco is a Chilean state owned copper mining company. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationalized in 1971. The headquarters are in Santiago and the seven-man board of directors is appointed by the President of the Republic. It has the Minister of Mining as its president and six other members including the Minister of Finance and one representative each from the Copper Workers Federation and the National Association of Copper Supervisors.

Codelco predicts that India will become the world's third largest copper consumer in 2030. Driven by renewable energy and electric transportation, the consumption of refined copper will increase from the current 500,000 tons to 1.5 million tons, an increase of two times.

According to data from the Chilean Copper Commission, in 2019, China, the US and Germany were the biggest copper consumers worldwide with 53.6%, 7.7% and 4.3% of the total, respectively, according to Chile’s copper commission Cochilco. Due to the epidemic, Chile's exports of molybdenum and copper-containing products have tripled in 2020.

Chile's mining ministry will present half the country’s national mining policy through 2050, with the final phase of the process starting this month, according to a press release. According to data from the Chilean Ministry of Mines, the export value of copper products from small and medium enterprises in 2020 was US$937,000, compared with US$345,000 in 2019. The main export products are fabrics and daily necessities for Covid-19 epidemic prevention.

Twelve SMEs are producing copper-based facemasks, cleaning products, antibacterial gel, wound treatments, cosmetics, chemical additives, polymers as well as resins, and sending them to China, Canada, Peru, Brazil, the US, Spain, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Germany, Belgium, Japan and Turkey.

Lorena Sepúlveda, Director of the Chilean Trade Promotion Agency (ProChile), said, "This added value and innovation has generated interest around the world and in ProChile we are committed to supporting their SMEs' internationalization, as they contribute to diversifying and adding value to our exportable offer".

In the early stages of the pandemic, ProChile established a working group with suppliers of molybdenum and copper-based products to define business opportunities and connect them with buyers abroad. Chile is the world's largest copper producer. Last year, the mining authorities proposed to use copper nanoparticles in bills and bank cards.

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