Chile’s Codelco foresees copper price around US$3.80/US$3.90 per pound next year

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Looking ahead to 2022, the executive president of Codelco, the world’s largest copper mine, Octavio Araneda, said on Wednesday that they foresee a copper price of around US$3.80 – US$3.90 per pound next year, a little lower than the one reached in the current year.

In the framework of the inauguration of the new Strategic Operations Center (CIO-E) of the state-owned mining company, Araneda pointed out that “it is always tough to forecast prices, especially in the short and medium-term, but next year (there will be) probably a price a little lower than this year, around US$3.80-US$3.90.”

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The executive added that, in any case, the price of copper is a complex variable to estimate. He also indicated that production for this year and next year is expected to be similar to 2020.

As Araneda explained, according to all the balances, it is expected that there will be an increase in supply in the coming years, as new products will appear. For example, with the Quebrada Blanca and Spence initiatives in Chile and Quellaveco in Peru.

“The balance is seen with a slight surplus in the following years until approximately 2024. But, from there, we see an increase in the adjustment of the balance between supply and demand,” he detailed, alluding to the increased demand coming from electric cars.

“While it is difficult to forecast how much it will be, at what magnitude and at what speed, it makes us foresee that the future of copper looks pretty good,” he said, adding that this will accelerate much more as global awareness of climate change increases.

WATER GUARANTEED FOR OPERATION IN 2022

Considering the relevance of water resources amid the country’s drought, Codelco’s board chairman, Juan Benavides, clarified that the company had guaranteed the necessary water to operate in 2022, mainly at Teniente and Andina. “The studies are done. They guarantee that the water will be sufficient,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, on the potential mega-sized desalination plant for the Northern District expected for this year, Benavides only commented that Codelco are still in the final phase of the process. “We are very close,” he said, adding, “there are still aspects of contracts that are being analyzed.”

Regarding the inauguration of the new business center, which is located at the state-owned company’s headquarters, Benavides said that this initiative is already materializing. “There is 2% more productivity just by data analysis and by the recommendations that are being made. There is a whole study that has been made of the bases of each process in such a way that with the analysis that has been made, it is expected that in three years we will reach productivity indicators much higher than those we have today,” he said.