Skip to content
Subscriber Only

Top Copper Miner Codelco Raises Debt After Saying It Wouldn’t

  • State-owned Codelco debt soars by $480 million amid price drop
  • Money ensures projects continue amid no new government funding
The Codelco Chuquicamata open pit copper mine stands near Calama, Chile,
Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg
Updated on

The world’s largest copper miner is selling bonds, taking out loans and selling non-structural assets to secure funding for its multibillion-dollar upgrade projects only four months after saying it didn’t need to raise money this year or next.

Codelco agreed to borrow $300 million and sold two bonds for a combined $180 million of funding, the state-owned company said in a statement dated Thursday to Chile’s securities regulator CMF. Earlier this week, it sold a 37% stake in natural gas port terminal GNL Mejillones for $193.5 million.