Chile government to consider copper producers' cost variations in new royalty bill

The disparity in costs faced by different copper mining companies in Chile will be taken into account in an industry-wide royalty planned by the government to help finance its ambitious social agenda, the undersecretary of Mining said on Friday.

A study by the national Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) revealed that the cash costs for Chile's largest operators rose by 10c/lb in year-on-year terms in 2021, due to the lower quality of the ore as well as higher energy and transportation prices.

The document also states that smaller operators, consisting of those who produce less than 150 000 t annually, have been the most affected by these changes.