Juan Benavidez, chairman of Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said the recent correction in the copper market was a slowdown in a long-term growth trend.
Copper, along with other commodities, has been hit in recent weeks by signs of slowing economic growth in China, but has rebounded strongly in the past few days as China's initial containment of a highly contagious mutant Delta virus has bolstered confidence.
As well as short-term ups and downs, copper's strength has been underpinned by infrastructure spending and the transition to clean energy and transport, Mr Benavidez said.
'The fundamentals of the copper market remain the same and there will be growing demand for copper going forward, which means the outlook is still very good,' he said.
The state-owned company began a $1.4 billion investment in its Salvadoran mines.
Codelco is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar refurbishment of its ageing copper mines after decades of underinvestment. Despite the strike at the Andina mine and other contract negotiations ongoing, the company expects production to be slightly higher this year than last.
'Most of our cathode copper contracts are annual contracts that have a clear monthly amount and are executed at the maximum amount,' Mr. Benavidez said. Despite recent volatility, copper prices remain highly profitable.
As far as collective bargaining is concerned, union leaders say workers should share in the windfall from higher copper prices. Mr Benavides said Codelco was negotiating wages in a responsible way, taking into account the productivity of each division and its responsibility to make money for the country.
A strike by the two main unions at the andina copper mine is about to end its second week. Salvadoran unions plan to vote on the company's final offer in the next few days. The four unions are about to begin regular talks at its largest mine, ElTeniente.
