Reuters cited Mr Diego Hernandez CEO of Codelco as saying that Chilean state giant Codelco will struggle this year to match record 2011 copper output of 1.735 million tonnes.

Mr Hernandez said that Codelco will invest USD 4.5 billion this year in its Ministro Hales and Nuevo Nivel Mina el Teniente projects as well as works at its massive Chuquicamata deposit as it seeks to counter lower ore grades and boost output to 2.1 million tonnes by 2020. We had record output of 1.735 million tonnes. This year is complex production wise. It will be hard to match 2011."

He said that Codelco has had contacts with Anglo American amid a bitter legal dispute over assets in the south of the country. The dispute could grind on for years and Hernandez said there were no serious negotiations.

Anglo American blind sided markets with a pre emptive sale of 24.5% stake in its southern Chilean properties in November weeks after Codelco announced it planned to exercise a long standing option to buy 49% stake.

Codelco accuses Anglo of acting in bad faith and selling a stake from under it while Anglo argues it was entitled to sell a share in the assets to Japan's Mitsubishi before Codelco's window to exercise the option in January.

Mr Hernandez said that "We have spoken with them during this period. But there is nothing on the table worth starting serious negotiations about. Anglo American had offered it between USD 700 million and USD 1 billion to buy out its option, depending on the price of copper which was billions of dollars shy of the USD 5.4 billion it charged Mitsubishi for its 24.5% stake.”

(Sourced from Reuters)