Codelco CEO steps down as Chile copper giant faces ‘complexities’

By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -The CEO of Chile’s state-owned mining giant Codelco is stepping down after only a year in the role, citing person reasons and “complexities” in running the world’s largest producer.

Andre Sougarret, a respected engineer who gained prominence leading the rescue of 33 miners trapped at the San Jose mine in 2010, will remain in his post until Aug. 31, Codelco said in a statement on Tuesday, while the firm seeks a replacement.

Codelco is facing challenges on various fronts, with copper production at a 25-year low and the government charging the firm with leading talks with private lithium companies to shift to a state-led public-private model.

Chile, the world’s top copper-producing country and No. 2 for battery metal lithium, has seen policy shifts this year, with President Gabriel Boric hiking royalties for private mining firms and announcing plans for more state control over lithium.

“In these months we have faced complexities in the most diverse areas,” Sougarret said in the statement, citing both personal issues as well as challenges “managing this state-owned mining company in the current time and circumstances”.

“It has not been easy to reconcile the demands of the position with the care of the other facets that make up the life of a human being,” he added.