MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chileans proud of government managed copper industry

Nine out of ten Chileans oppose the privatization of Codelco, the country's top corporation and further more favour keeping the huge copper industry as well as its petroleum and other mining enterprises in government hands, revealed a report published Monday in Santiago's La Nacion.

The report was undertaken by Adimark consulting firm at the request of the Mines Ministry revealing that 94% of those interviewed feel that Corporacion del Cobre, or Codelco, is well structured and adequately managed.

The world's largest copper producer -1.73 million tons in 2004 ? is considered a key industry of Chile's mining industry and projects an excellent international image of the country, according to the opinion poll.

However the corporation's transparency was questioned with demands for improving access to its finances following a national controversy over claims that cash rich Codelco has been contracting consulting firms and advisors, mostly political cronies from the ruling coalition, and paying exorbitant sums for papers and reports that allegedly end in desk boxes.

The release of the survey results comes on the 34th anniversary of the nationalization of the copper industry, approved by Congress during the 1970-73 administration of elected Socialist Salvador Allende, who was ousted in a bloody military coup.

During the subsequent dictatorial regime headed by General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990, private investment in Chilean copper mining was again authorized and currently private production exceeds Codelco's output.

Nevertheless the government owned corporation has paid more than 12 billion US dollars into the Chilean treasury over the past decade, including during times of low, virtually unprofitable international copper prices.