Financial statements analysis of CODELCO as an example of Nationalized Mining Assets

This paper analyses the most recent financial statements of Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO). This company was created in the 1970s after the nationalization of several major copper mines in Chile in an important and contentious historical episode. It is possible to interpret the Chilean government’s nationalization as an extreme example of the implementation of the idea of intergenerational equity, where the government prioritizes locals as the true owners of natural resources. The history of this company raises theoretical questions for the future of international law and potential action by the USA to reclaim these mines, but this article focuses only on the narrow analysis of the company’s financial statements on an introductory basis. How much does CODELCO reinvest into itself, and how does that compare with private mining companies?