Chile taps new chair for leading copper producer Codelco amid production, debt concerns

Chile’s government on Thursday tapped Bernardo Fontaine to replace Maximo Pacheco as chairman of the world’s largest copper producer, state-run Codelco, giving the economist and executive a key leadership role as newly inaugurated President Jose Antonio Kast’s administration criticizes the miner’s debt, budget overruns and production challenges.

The government also named Luz Granier and Alejandro Canut to replace board members Josefina Montenegro and Alejandra Wood.

Fontaine’s new role will go into effect on May 26, just as Pacheco completes his four-year term.

Mining Minister Daniel Mas, who was appointed by Kast, said the new board members will be tasked with a “special mandate” to lead an investigation and external audit to address recent production issues.

“Given the latest preliminary information that has come to light, our position is clear: we will launch an investigation into the case and, of course, take all necessary actions to clarify the information,” he said in a statement. He did not specify what the probe will look into.

Industry insiders have questioned how Codelco achieved a production surge in December 2025, and whether the figure represented fully refined copper, Reuters reported in March.

Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero this week reported that nearly 20,000 metric tons of copper were improperly included in a 2025 production report, according to a preliminary internal audit.

Asked about the matter, Codelco said that an internal audit of its Chuquicamata division’s 2025 production was still underway.

“It would be inappropriate to draw conclusions while the process is still ongoing.”

Mas added that Codelco’s newly constituted board should also do an in-depth financial review, after budget overruns, and said he will push for rigorous financial management.

Codelco has been struggling to recover its own production level in hopes of reaching its output target of 1.7 million tons by 2030, after hitting record lows in 2022–2023.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon, Natalia Ramos and Kylie Madry)