Chilean state miner Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, is aiming to produce 1.391 million metric tons of copper this year, as stated in an unpublished government decree for its 2025 budget reviewed by Reuters. To boost production from historic lows, the company has allocated $4.727 billion for investments in 2025, including Value Added Tax. This production goal represents an increase from last year's 1.328 million tons, showing Codelco's efforts to recover from the impact of declining ore grades.
Codelco's budget projections include a copper price of $4.30 per pound and a cash cost of $1.98 per pound, with estimated operating revenue of $22.23 billion and a pre-tax net profit of $3.105 billion. The planned 2025 investment is slightly higher than the $4.6 billion invested in 2024, focusing mainly on upgrading key mines to address lower-grade ore challenges.
Achieving the 2025 production target would signify a second consecutive year of increased output for Codelco. In 2024, the company successfully reversed its production decline from previous years, reaching 1.325 million tons by year-end through strategies such as deferred maintenance and minimized downtime. Despite ongoing issues with ore quality and project delays, Codelco managed to report a consolidated EBITDA of $4.022 billion from January to September 2024, with final financial results for the year expected by the end of March.