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1) Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow says that it makes "no sense" for Western nations to introduce policies and incentives that encourage deglobalization as a way to tackle authoritarian regimes in the energy sector. "What we are witnessing here is deglobalization, which is tragic. To deglobalize the world in a situation where everyone supposedly is worried about a world that's going to be safer, cleaner place ... it makes no sense to me to become parochial or nationalistic," Bristow said. Canada recently made the decision to ban Chinese investments in 3 lithium miners that created concern and uncertainty among mining companies. Analysts are mixed on the decision with some saying it was necessary in the current geopolitical environment, while others say it could create unintended consequences for Canada's reputation as a safe place to invest. Barrick Gold has recently agreed to explore in mining regions such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for copper and gold, seemingly driving the comments from the CEO of the company.
2) Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, produced 172,000 less tons of copper in 2022 according to Maximo Pacheco. Mr. Pacheco said that 77% of the reduction was due to operational challenges and 23% was due to project delays, which resulted in about a 10% drop from the output in 2021. "We've had an extraordinarily eventful year," said Pacheco touching on the collapse in the Chuquicamata mine and a landslide at the Ministro Hales mine. The company was forced to suspend operations due to fatalities in its mine, and Mr. Pacheco said the company is working to improve its safety. Codelco produced an estimated 1.45 million tons of copper in 2022 compared to 1.62 million in 2021, following other copper companies in the country such as Antofagasta which also reported a drop in production.
3) In 2033, desalinated water is expected to make up 71% of the water that is used in Chile's copper mining industry. According to Cochilco, between 2028 and 2030, Chile is expected to reach record copper production to over 7 million tons per year. Due to persistent drought and the focus of copper production turns away from oxide resources to copper sulfides, desalinated water will become necessary to keep up with production. This is because oxide resources can be leached, while sulfides must also be treated in the concentrator that accounts for the majority of water consumption in a mine. The water consumption for the mining industry only accounts for 0.7% of national water consumption, which is far behind agriculture and household use. Chile, as well as other countries such as Saudi Arabia and possibly the US, will need to look at viable solutions for water when it comes to not only mining, but water consumption as a whole.