BHP, Antofagasta call for more dialogue in Chile copper royalty proposal

BHP and Antofagasta Minerals called on Tuesday for greater government dialogue to prevent a controversial copper mining royalty project from affecting competitiveness.

“We respect the dialogue with the authorities,” Rag Udd, BHP’s head of the Americas, said at a panel at the World Copper Conference in Santiago.

“But the proposed level of royalty would leave Chile in an uncompetitive position compared to other jurisdictions in which BHP operates.”

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and the mining industry claims that tax burden brought on by the new royalty would hit when companies are already struggling to offset a decline in ore grades around the country.

A Senate commission is expected to vote on the royalty on Tuesday and would pass to the full Senate if approved.

Antofagasta’s Executive President Ivan Arriagada said that the latest adjustments raise the total tax load to a maximum of 48%, compared with 41% in competitors like Australia and Peru.

“I hope that the next (legislative) stage will have that opening to continue collaborating,” Arriagada said.

The royalty project is part of a larger change in revenue promoted by the government to finance campaign promises. The government already suffered a major setback when Congress shelved its proposed tax reform in early March.

(By Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by Marguerita Choy)