{"id":1126693,"date":"2019-07-15T12:58:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T17:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=996662"},"modified":"2019-07-15T12:58:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T17:58:22","slug":"chiles-codelco-chooses-33-year-insider-to-replace-pizarro-as-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1126693","title":{"rendered":"Chile\u2019s Codelco chooses 33-year insider to replace Pizarro as CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>World\u2019s largest copper producer, Codelco, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmfchile.cl\/sitio\/aplic\/serdoc\/ver_sgd.php?s567=a69dbd77e85c06a2b1262072937cb0c7VFdwQmVFOVVRVE5OUkVWNVRVUnJNRTVCUFQwPQ==&amp;secuencia=-1\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">has name company insider Octavio Araneda<\/a> as its new chief executive officer, following the departure of Nelson Pizarro.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Araneda, a mining engineer who has<br \/>\nspent his entire 33-year career at the state-owned mining company, was chosen<br \/>\nunanimously by the board of directors on Friday, Codelco said in a&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmfchile.cl\/sitio\/aplic\/serdoc\/ver_sgd.php?s567=a69dbd77e85c06a2b1262072937cb0c7VFdwQmVFOVVRVE5OUkVWNVRVUnJNRTVCUFQwPQ==&amp;secuencia=-1\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Pizarro (78), a stalwart at the copper producer for decades, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/codelcos-new-ceo-to-lead-the-copper-miners-25-billion-revamp-22101\/\" >took the top post in 2014<\/a>. He played a critical role in the company\u2019s drive to&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/worlds-no-1-copper-miner-codelco-made-2-88-billion-profit-2017\/\" >reduce spending and force a reduction in costs<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>He also kicked off an ambitious overhaul of Codelco\u2019s aging mines,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/codelcos-new-ceo-to-lead-the-copper-miners-25-billion-revamp-22101\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">originally pegged at $25 billion<\/a>&nbsp;(now sitting at&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/chiles-codelco-delays-2-25-billion-in-investments-on-copper-prices-slump\/\" >about $18bn<\/a>), aimed at dealing with dwindling ore grades.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike previous CEOs, the mining veteran <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/codelco-ceo-stay-chiles-new-govt-reshuffles-management\/9\/\" >remained at the helm despite a change in government in 2018<\/a>, an unusual move, given that the role is often a political appointee.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Octavio Araneda will have to oversee the remainder of a 10-year plan to upgrade the company\u2019s aging mines, while keeping debt levels in check.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Pizarro had signalled&nbsp;he would leave leave the company after the inauguration of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/codelco-goes-ahead-scaled-back-underground-extension-chuquicamata\/\" >$5.6 billion conversion<\/a> of the giant Chuquicamata open pit mine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/chiles-codelco-kicks-off-underground-mining-chuquicamata\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">into an underground operation<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Codelco\u2019s new CEO will oversee the remainder of a 10-year plan to upgrade the company\u2019s aging mines, while keeping debt levels in check. He would also have to secure funding from the government and maintain production rates.<\/p>\n<p>The next major mine overhaul is a<br \/>\nnew level at El Teniente underground mine, the company\u2019s largest, which fell<br \/>\nunder Araneda\u2019s mandate in his previous role.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the new leader will deal with other major corporate modifications Pi\u00f1era\u2019s administration has promised, including legal changes to prevent the nation\u2019s armed forces from using Codelco as a cash cow to finance weapons purchases.<\/p>\n<p>The copper giant holds vast<br \/>\ndeposits of the red metal, accounting for over 10% of the world\u2019s known proven<br \/>\nand probable reserves and about 11% of the global annual copper output with 1.8<br \/>\nmillion tonnes of production.<\/p>\n<p>Production decline, together with<br \/>\nlower copper prices and higher costs, saw the company\u2019s annual profits drop by<br \/>\na third last year to $2 billion, not counting paper losses worth almost $400<br \/>\nmillion, as it wrote down the value of its assets, including its Ventanas<br \/>\nsmelter and the open pit at its Salvador division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Octavio Araneda will replace Nelson Pizarro at the helm of Codelco from Sept. 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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