KGHM committed to Chile for long-term – CEO

WSE-listed state-owned copper and silver giant KGHM will not abandon its Chilean investment in Sierra Gorda, despite a PLN 4.33 billion write-off on the project last year. “We want to be here. Our engagement in Chile is long term. Now we see real progress,” company's CEO Radosław Domagalski-Łabędzki told Reuters. Back in March, KGHM announced that it is suspending the second phase of the mine's development. According to Domagalski-Łabędzki, KGHM will now focus on optimizing the first phase and increasing daily processing capacity to 140,000 metric tons. The company acquired Chilean copper deposits in 2011 for $2 billion, making it the largest foreign acquisition by a Polish company. “We survived because we had our Polish assets, but in the long perspective, we see the chance to get a payback from Sierra Gorda as well,” he concluded.