Santiago, October 7, 2026 - The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Codelco, Bernardo Fontaine, reaffirmed before the Special Investigating Commission of the Chamber of Deputies that the Corporation's administration will face with "determination and transparency" the inconsistencies detected in the production figures and any new information that may arise from the investigations currently underway.

During his presentation to the parliamentary body, Fontaine stated that, after the detection of the first case of overproduction, and given the reviews promoted by the company itself, they were able to identify a second case, currently under investigation, in which production figures were doubled between two divisions of the company.

In this regard, Fontaine stated that the administration he leads has committed to confronting these cases and any new findings “with determination and transparency, without delays, without corporate defenses, without trying to protect people, areas or decisions simply because they belong to Codelco.”

The chairman of Codelco's board of directors explained that the investigations must advance both in detecting any individual responsibilities and in identifying the process and control failures that made it possible for these situations to occur or not be detected in a timely manner.

“It is not enough to find those responsible. We also have to correct what allowed these events to occur. And if it is determined that Codelco suffered financial losses, our mandate is to use all available instruments to pursue their restitution,” he stated.

Fontaine stressed the need to act with special rigor in the public release of background information, considering the economic, social and political relevance of the main state-owned company and the effects that its actions and communications can have on the markets and the country.

“Being transparent also means being rigorous. We cannot transform hypotheses into certainties, anticipate responsibilities, or establish figures or potential damages before they have been properly determined. This does not diminish our commitment to fully clarify these events; it compels us to do so with greater rigor,” he stated.

In this same vein, the top representative of the state-owned company pointed out that the background of these cases “is being examined in different instances, including internal investigations by Codelco, independent external audits, the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Chamber's own Investigative Commission,” which, in his opinion, confirms the need to be rigorous in every step the Corporation takes.

Fontaine assured that Codelco will maintain a policy of full collaboration with all of them, providing the required information and respecting the corresponding competencies and procedures.

Regain leadership

The chairman of the board linked the company's response to these cases with the broader objective set by the current administration: to restore Codelco's undisputed leadership position in the national and global mining industry.

“Our mission is to return Codelco to an undisputed leadership position in its industry. That means recovering production, executing our projects correctly, improving efficiency and profitability, but also strengthening confidence in our management. A company cannot truly be a leader if its figures do not inspire confidence,” he stated.

Fontaine noted that this objective will determine the administration's actions in these cases and any other background information that may arise from the ongoing reviews.

“Our goal will be to clarify the facts, determine responsibilities, correct the failures that made them possible, restore any damages that may have been caused, and strengthen our controls to prevent them from happening again,” he said.

“Codelco cannot simply be content with remaining a large company. It must once again become a leading company: in production, efficiency, and profitability, but also in integrity, transparency, and quality of its management. That is the mission that guides this administration,” he concluded.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Codelco attended the session accompanied by the Vice Presidents of Finance, Alejandro Sanhueza; Legal, Macarena Vargas; Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Pablo Villarino; and People Management, Fernando Hernández; along with the managers of Budget and Management Control (i), Benjamín Gareca; Audit, Rodrigo Rivera, and Corporate Building Project, Juan Rojas, in addition to the lawyer Juan Ignacio Piña.

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