Chile will reinvest all of state-owned copper miner Codelco’s 2025 profits into the company, Mining Minister Daniel Mas said on Monday, boosting funding for a producer grappling with a heavy debt load and the costly task of overhauling aging mines.
Codelco, one of the world’s largest copper producers, transfers its profits to the state, which then decides how much capital to return to the company.
Speaking at an event, Mas said that the government would return all of Codelco’s profits from last year for the company to invest, a large jump from the 30% assigned by the previous government for 2024’s profits.
Government officials said the move marked the first time in Codelco’s history that the Chilean state would channel all profits back to the company. Codelco was created out of the nationalization of the copper industry in 1971.
Codelco Chairman Bernardo Fontaine said the timing was critical.
“It gives us great support just at the time when we have to work to implement a deep recovery plan for Codelco,” he said.
The move comes as Codelco seeks to shore up its finances while advancing multibillion-dollar structural projects needed to reverse years of production declines and extend the life of some of Chile’s largest copper deposits.
Codelco reported a net profit of $2.4 billion in 2025, helped by stronger copper prices and income from its lithium partnership with SQM. Despite the improved results, the company ended the year with net debt of $25.1 billion.
The miner has faced mounting scrutiny over rising debt, higher operating costs and delays at key projects after years of declining ore grades and lower output. Its finances came under further pressure after a fatal accident last year disrupted operations at El Teniente, its flagship mine.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Kylie Madry )
