The Congress will propose to speed up Codelco entering the lithium business
19-Dec-2012 Pulso – News
The Investigation Commission will vote tomorrow on the final report that includes ten items to improve the mining company competitiveness. However there is not unanimous consent
Tomorrow (Thursday) the final conclusions and recommendations issued by the Commission Investigating the State-Owned Codelco will be voted. Since 2011 the Commission has been carrying out an extensive analysis of the copper company that is today headed by Thomas Keller. Notwithstanding, some conclusions have been already agreed upon as it was clearly noticed yesterday when some members met in order to vote these proposals but the voting session could not be accomplished because of some discrepancies the Deputies considered as minor issues.
One key point for Congress members was the participation of the company in the lithium business. In this regard, the final report will gather the state-owned company managerial staff opinions. During the meetings the executives have stated it is a minor business as there is no major interest neither in production volume nor in prices.
However, a recommendation will be issued in order to make some progress in those deposits where the corporation has already executed exploration tasks in order to get the company enter the lithium business: Maricunga and Pedernales salt flats. “Many sessions have been dedicated to dealing with the lithium exploitation topic. At the beginning the Codelco administration did not show any noticeable interest in this business because of volume and prices. Codelco provided information on the salt flats where they have been granted concessions, i.e. Maricunga and Pedernales. The Commission considers these salt flats must be taken to productive stages”, the Commission President, Marcos Espinosa, explained. This initiative goes hand in hand with a law draft passed in the Congress but that has been kept in a standstill situation. This law draft is aimed at modifying Article No. 3 of Decree No. 1.350 to create the National Corporation of Copper to widen its scope in lithium exploration and exploitation.
Anglo
Another relevant point in the Commission work was the dispute between Codelco and Anglo American for the option the Chilean company had to purchase up to 49% of Los Bronces property. On this regard the final report indicates that the company could have applied its right to purchase 49% by insisting on the application of a legal action. Besides there is also criticism on Mitsubishi and Anglo American actions by indicating them both damaged the interests of Chile. “The Commission considers Mitsubishi and Anglo colluded against national interests. It is clear both companies had an interest in having access to a large amount of copper concentrate”, Espinosa added.
One of the points where agreement has not been achieved refers to some modifications to the law that created Codelco and particularly regarding the financial mechanisms of the company. Although there is agreement on how to set a permanent format for resources delivery, there is no final consent on how to set this down in the report. “This is a core issue because it controls the independence level with respect to Government control.
We are still shaping this into the final text of report”, Juan Carlos Latorre, (DC party) Deputy, member of the Commission.
