Chile's state owned Codelco, the world's largest copper producer will invest USD 5 billion on existing and planned projects this year.

Codelco said that of that amount, USD 2.89 billion will go toward extending the useful life of mines. Codelco accounts for 11% of the world's copper supply.

Between Codelco and other privately held companies, Chile produces 5.6 million tonnes a year of copper a third of the world's output of the metal. Last year, Chile's copper exports fell 9.4%.