The war is associated with a huge demand for copper products. Every country that builds infrastructure and an army needs it, said the president of KGHM Polska Miedz Marcin Chludzinski on TV Republika.
The head of the copper giant explained that since 2018 the company has increased its copper production by 30%, which has had a huge impact on the financial result. “Last year, USD 523 million returned to Poland from the Sierra Gorda mine in Chile as a return on investment,” he said.
“For many years it was not possible, because the transfer was from Poland to Chile, so we paid extra for this project,” he explained. Similarly, in Głogow Copper Smelter, an installation was built in 2014, which was de facto commissioned only at the turn of 2018 and 2019.
“Maybe these are not great things, but you need to organize the company so that it can then function well. It’s a bit like a marathon. If someone has broken legs or has health problems, he will not run a marathon, and I think we can say that we are running this marathon at the moment. We are seventh in the world for copper mining and first for silver mining. Moreover, we are a widely recognized and respected company,” explained Chludziński
As he added, there does not seem to be any lower demand for copper today. “In addition to the war itself, as a catalyst for the demand for copper, we also have an energy transformation. This means that more and more windmills are being built at sea, more and more photovoltaic panels, and transmission grids are being replaced,” he pointed out.
Last year, KGHM Polska Miedz had a profit of 6 billion. “This is a historically very high result, but even in the first quarter of this year, it is already over 3 billion. So, we may have a very good bottom line again, but there is still some time ahead of us. We have quite a lot of expenses because we invest about two and a half billion zlotys annually. First of all, the development of mining – we have to carry out quite expensive mining work related to building shafts. We have to do this to have the level of output we have today.
As President Chludzinski added, KGHM is a socially responsible company. “We are a socially responsible company and the directions of our activity are very different. In addition to traditional sports, culture and education in the region, we also support extracurricular activities, provide family support, and take action in crises. This is how State Treasury companies should be perceived – that they can put in a lot of effort when it is needed.”
He explained that that activity was often necessary. “We were during pandemic at the level of hospitals and equipment supplies, we were during the crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, we are in Ukraine, with transport and medicines and assistance,” he enumerated. “I think that the activity of not only ours but also many other entities have a significant impact on the reality.”
The entire conversation in Polish is included in the video below.