Chile's government, miners still clashing over mining royalty bill
SANTIAGO - Chile's government and mining industry continued to disagree over a proposed mining royalty bill on Wednesday despite recent adjustments.
The government had on Tuesday announced modifications to a proposed mining royalty bill, lowering a variable "ad valorem" rate to a flat 1% for large producers and tying another rate to operating margins, instead of the price of copper as was originally proposed.
Jorge Riesco, president of Chile's National Mining Society (Sonami) which represents small, medium and large companies including Anglo American, BHP and Glencore, said that while the adjustments benefited medium-sized miners, he believed the tax burden would still be too high.
"It is undeniable that this proposal still lacks if it wants to be at a level comparable to other countries for attracting investment in terms of total tax burden," Riesco said in a local radio interview.
He added that dialogue between the government and companies was frank "but not totally fruitful" and that according to Sonami's calculations, the tax burden on mining companies could be between 50% and 55%.
Chile's finance ministry estimates the tax burden with copper prices of $3.74 per pound would reach 39.8%, marginally below Peru and Queensland, Australia.
Speaking to congress on Wednesday, Finance Minister Mario Marcel defended the bill and said state participation in copper income would go from 45% to about 55%-56% when copper prices surpass $4 a pound.
"We're confident that this is a plan that better balances the aim of increased revenue with the objective of maintaining the mining sector's development opportunities," Marcel said.
Marcel added that the bill would allow Chile to remain competitive with Peru while greatly reducing the gap in collected revenue.
Sonami's Riesco argued that the government should consider promoting more mining production instead of increasing taxes, arguing this would make a greater contribution to the treasury.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Sulzer South Africa, established in 1922, partners with critical industries like power, oil & gas, water, mining, and chemicals to boost...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Leading condition monitoring specialists, WearCheck, help boost machinery lifespan and reduce catastrophic component failure through the scientific...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
