Mining companies in Chile reject eventual constitutional norm to nationalize copper industry

Mining companies operating in Chile have shown “extreme concern” over a proposal to nationalize the vital copper industry, as part of the discussion of a new Constitution in the country.

Earlier, the Environment Commission of the Constitutional Convention approved a rule “for the Nationalization and New Social and Environmental Management of Copper Mining, Lithium and other Strategic Assets for Good Living.”

Diego Hernández, president of the National Mining Society -which brings together companies in the sector-, said in a statement that the decision does not consider the impact that a measure of this nature would have.

“The decision adopted is barbaric, with clear and evident legal errors. The nationalization of copper has been approved, but the copper currently belongs to the Chilean State. Thus, this measure only means nationalizing the companies, not the natural resources, which is what we want to protect”, he stated.

“A nationalization would have serious consequences for our economy in a context of globalization, since the affected companies will resort to these treaties to defend their legitimate interests,” he added.

Members of the Constitutional Convention have pointed out that the initial approvals of the commissions could undergo adjustments, additions or even be suppressed, so they do not represent the result that the final text will have.

The debates on the content of the new Constitution, which seeks to replace the one inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, will begin on February 15.

The eventual decisions of the body, dominated by independents and left-wing supporters, have generated uncertainties in various sectors.

The mining industry has called for preserving the legal certainty that has distinguished the world’s largest copper producer and the second largest lithium producer to avoid impacts on the large investments required by the sector for the coming years.