(Bloomberg) -- Codelco posted a decline in first-half production as setbacks loosen the Chilean state-owned company’s grip on the title of world’s biggest copper supplier.
Copper production came in 8.4% below the first six months of last year, the Santiago-based miner said Friday.
Codelco has seen its output tumble amid disruptions at mines and long delays at projects as it plays catch-up after decades of underinvestment. Some analysts, including those from Bloomberg Intelligence, see BHP Group overtaking Codelco this year as the top global copper producer.
Chief Executive Officer Ruben Alvarado is betting on a second-half recovery after a management shake-up. He wants production to return to the company’s previous peaks by the end of the decade with a $40 billion investment program to overhaul aging deposits.
“With the work we’re doing at our projects, we’re on the road in the second half to getting production to start growing in the long term,” Alvarado said in a statement Friday posted on Codelco’s website.
Meanwhile, Codelco reported lower costs in the first half compared with the same period in 2023, helping its earnings.
(Adds plans for production comeback in fourth paragraph.)
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