Codelco to Shut Smallest, Highest Cost Mine Salvador
2005-07-29 09:40 (New York)
By Heather Walsh
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Codelco, the world's biggest copper
producer, plans to shutter its smallest mine because of rising
costs and declining production at the division.
Government-owned Codelco will shut its Salvador mine in
northern Chile beginning in 2008, spokeswoman Sandra Guijarro said
by telephone in Santiago, citing Codelco Executive President Juan
Villarzu, who spoke yesterday to mine workers. Salvador accounted
for 4.1 percent of Codelco's 2004 output.
The mine has the highest costs among four divisions at
Codelco, hurting profit at the company even after prices for the
metal surged. Prices for copper rose to a record this week in New
York and have gained 30 percent in 12 months after demand for the
metal rose in China, the biggest copper user.
Codelco had 1,727 workers at the mine as of 2004, according
to its annual report. Production at Salvador dropped 6.5 percent
to 74,874 metric tons last year. Codelco produced 1.84 million
tons of copper in 2004.
--Editor: Jameson. |
