Economist Bernardo Fontaine officially assumes the chairmanship of state-owned Codelco on May 26, 2026. He succeeds Máximo Pacheco, who finalized his exit by resigning from the company’s lithium venture with SQM.
An internal audit recently revealed a 20,000-metric-ton reporting discrepancy in 2025 copper output figures. Mining Minister Daniel Mas tasked the new board with launching an immediate independent audit to address these errors.
Fontaine inherits a governance crisis characterized by mounting debt and multi-decade production lows. Investors are monitoring turnaround efforts to secure the company’s target of 1.7 million tonnes of output by 2030.