Codelco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Codelco (full name in Spanish: Corporación Nacional del Cobre, Chile) is a Chilean 100 percent state-owned company and the largest copper producer in the world with recorded copper reserves of 200 years. Codelco produces 21% of the yearly worldwide volume in Mining extract. A recent study from US Goldman Sachs bank in January 2006 estimated the value of the company between 24,5 and 27,5 Billions US Dollars. The main product of Codelco is refined copper in the form of cathodes which are 99.99 percent pure copper.
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[edit] History
Codelco's history begins with Law 11,828, of May 5, 1955, that created the "Copper Office" (Departamento del Cobre) of the Chilean government, approved under President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.
During the administration of President Eduardo Frei Montalva, Congress sanctioned law 16.425, on January 25, 1966, and transformed the "Copper Office" into the "Copper Corporation of Chile" (Codelco).
With the constitutional reform that nationalized copper, on July 11, 1971, during President Salvador Allende's government, full ownership of all copper mines and copper fields in the country were transferred to Codelco. The creation of the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile, as it is currently known, was formalized by decree of April 1, 1976, under the Pinochet regime.
[edit] Divisions
Codelco has four mining and one industrial divisions. They are all located in Northern and Central Chile.
- Codelco Norte Division
- Salvador Division
- Andina Division
- El Teniente Division
[edit] Mines
[edit] El Teniente
El Teniente, located 80 km south of Santiago, owned by Codelco and administrated by its Division El Teniente, is the largest underground mine in the world, having 2400 km of underground galleries.
[edit] Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata, located 15 km north of Calama, is the largest open-pit copper mine in the world. It is administrated by Division Codelco Norte.
[edit] Radomiro Tomic
Radomiro Tomic is located 1670 Km North of Santiago and near to Chuquicamata, at 3000 meters above sea level in the Andes Range. It is an open pit mine that extracts oxide minerals. Although this deposit was discovered in the 1950´s, its operations started in 1995, after Codelco updated the feasibility studies for its exploitation and had the necessary technology to exploit it profitably. It is administrated by Division Codelco Norte.
