Economy & Business - June 2026

Chile’s President José Antonio Kast has appointed economist Bernardo Fontaine as the new chairman of Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, with a mandate to streamline the state-owned mining company and return it to growth. Along with other changes to Codelco’s leadership, Fontaine’s appointment was framed by Chile’s Minister of Economy and Mining Daniel Mas in stark terms, citing a “worrying level of indebtedness” and a “stagnation in production” at the copper giant.