Category: Chile

Placer Dome, the world’s fifth-largest gold producer, halted production at its Zaldivar copper mine in Chile as workers went on strike Monday. Union leaders are demanding improved wages, more bonuses and better healthcare. Zaldivar is scheduled to produce 151 thousand metric tons of copper this year.

Chilean toll road concessionaire Talca-Chillan issued $170 million in bonds denominated on the country’s inflation-indexed unit, the UF. The bonds were 1.6 times oversubscribed and were rated BBB by Standard & Poor’s and Baa2 by Moody’s. The company will use the funds to refinance debt and pay for additional works as required under the country’s ministry of public works traffic insurance policy.

Chile-based airline LAN will spend $750 million to buy 25 new Airbus A318 and A319 jets. The company is looking to expand flights within Latin America, including Argentina where its subsidiary LAN Argentina began flights last month. LAN also has subsiduaries in Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was released from the hospital on Wednesday, a day after fainting and losing consciousness for a half hour. Pinochet, 89, suffers frequent mini-strokes, linked to diabetes. Doctors say the strokes have atrophied part of his brain and caused mild dementia, a condition that courts have twice ruled is grounds for dismissing human rights abuse charges against him. Many former Pinochet supporters, including presidential candidate Joaquin Lavin, have turned against the ex-military commander after it emerged last year that he stashed millions of dollars in secret off-shore bank accounts.

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, 89, was hospitalized Tuesday after suffering a stroke. The ex-military commander fainted and was unconscious for about 30 minutes before he was taken to a hospital in Santiago. Pinochet has had the same medical problem previously and is in stable condition, his son told reporters. A Chilean appeals court will meet as soon as Wednesday to decide whether to strip Pinochet of presidential immunity as part of an investigation into disappearances in the 1970s of suspected opponents to his regime.

Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, has produced less than forecast so far this year, according to Mining Minister Alfonso Dulanto. Dulanto expects expansion at the company’s mines to help boost output in the months ahead to recover from the slow start. Codelco is planning to dramatically increase production over the next few years to take advantage of copper prices that are at a 14-year high. Global demand for the metal remains high, especially in China, the world’s biggest copper consumer.

Chilean pulp and paper manufacturer CMPC sold bonds worth $208 million on the local market. The bonds will mature in 10 years and bear an interest rate of 3.22 percent. The family of company chairman Eliodoro Matte owns about 56 percent of CMPC.

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck northern Chile Monday night, killing eight people. The quake temporarily knocked out power at BHP Billiton’s Cerro Colorado copper mine, though operations continued running normally at Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine. Power was cut at Codelco’s largest mine, Chuquicamata, and at Radomiro Tomic mine, though operations were quickly restored.

Organization of American States foreign ministers rejected a proposal by the United States to monitor democracy in the region, seen as a veiled threat to Venezuela. A majority supported a Chilean compromise involving member states working together to evaluate internal developments in OAS countries, while respecting members’ sovereignty.

Chile posted a trade surplus of $543 million in May, down from $1.02 billion a year earlier as rising consumer confidence led to surging sales of imported cars and electronics. Consumers have boosted spending after the economy expanded in 2004 at its fastest pace in seven years, pushing down the unemployment rate to 8.2 percent in April from 8.7 percent a year earlier. Imports in May rose 36 percent year-on-year to $2.52 billion, while exports rose 7 percent to $3.06 billion.