Austrian investor rushes to boost copper production at old Chile mine
By Kylie Madry
Oct 16 (Reuters) - A US company founded in 2025 by an Austrian investor is working to boost production at the Chilean mining complex Tres Valles to profit from a looming global shortage of copper, Reuters has learned, while continuing to buy ore from local small miners to turn into cathodes for sale to customers.
A review of documents from US-registered Global Critical Resources (GCR) showed the company is banking on a hybrid approach of boosting its own mine's production while continuing to supplement its supplies with ore mined by dozens of independent miners.
Tres Valles, a junior operation originally developed by Brazil's Vale VALE3.SA, has passed through multiple owners and bankruptcy proceedings. The mine, about 290 km (180 miles) from Santiago, is close to other small and medium-sized miners in the Coquimbo region of Chile, the world's top copper-producing country.
Despite past financial troubles, Tres Valles kept its infrastructure and permits. That makes a restart feasible, a crucial edge in a country where miners complain red tape can delay new projects for decades. Possible roadblocks include unresolved charges by an environmental regulator, protests by suppliers who have yet to be paid for their ore and an ongoing lawsuit over GCR's purchase of Tres Valles.
GCR, founded by Austrian investor Cevdet Caner, plans for its underground project to start production by the end of the year, according to company documents reviewed by Reuters.
Global copper prices have surged in recent years on demand from electric vehicles, renewable energy grids and data centers. Supply, meanwhile, has been constrained by declining ore grades and long development timelines.
That has renewed interest in smaller operations and brownfield restarts that can move faster than large greenfield projects. In recent years, sites from Canada to Spain have been revived to speed up supply.
Caner formed GCR around assets his investment group had bought in Chile and Botswana, including Tres Valles.
Few details of the deal or plans to revive output at Tres Valles have come to light. Reuters obtained the documents, which the company gave to Chile's energy ministry ahead of an April meeting, through a public records request.
Players like Tres Valles are seen by analysts as key to plugging the looming supply gap in a global copper market where booming demand can only be met if producers invest an estimated $210 billion by 2035.
DOCUMENTS DETAIL OUTPUT PROJECTIONS AT TRES VALLES
Tres Valles is targeting peak annual core earnings of $157 million, one company document showed, from revenues of nearly $238 million a year. Those core earnings, or EBITDA, should average about $80 million a year from 2026 to 2031, the firm added.
Its flagship Papomono underground mine, set to kick off operations at the end of this year, could contribute about 30,800 tons of copper annually, while the Don Gabriel open-pit mine now under maintenance is projected to restart around 2030, one of the documents showed.
Those projections had not previously been reported.
Tres Valles and GCR did not respond to requests for comment.
SMALL MINERS, BIG ROLE
Unlike the region's major operators, Tres Valles supplements its own ore with material from more than 90 small and medium-sized miners, processing it into copper cathodes at an on-site plant, the documents showed.
As of April, it said it was producing cathodes at an annual rate of 14,100 metric tons, in line with guidance, but well below capacity of 18,500 tons a year.
That supply matters more as major producers struggle to raise output. Chilean state giant Codelco has blamed declining ore grades and delays to major revamps for weaker production.
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In April, Chile's government said it was simplifying permitting to help unlock an estimated $100 billion in mining investment.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Tres Valles faces hurdles. Chile's environmental regulator brought eight charges against the miner this year, mostly for failing to report monitoring processes. Possible penalties, yet to be decided, range from a written warning to closure.
In August, suppliers protested outside the site, saying payments were overdue. The miner blamed a cash squeeze from ongoing litigation over GCR's purchase of the mine.