Top copper miner Codelco raises debt after saying it wouldn’t

The world’s largest copper miner is selling bonds, taking out loans and selling non-structural assets to secure funding for its multibillion-dollar upgrade projects only four months after saying it didn’t need to raise money this year or next.

Codelco agreed to borrow $300-million and sold two bonds for a combined $180-million of funding, the state-owned company said in a statement dated Thursday to Chile’s securities regulator CMF. Earlier this week, it sold a 37% stake in natural gas port terminal GNL Mejillones for $193.5-million.