Project Finance for Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 Project in Chile
Supporting Japan's Long-term and Stable Procurement of Copper Concentrate

• Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Overseas Investment Loans
• Project Finance

1. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC, Governor: Tadashi Maeda) signed on May 30 a loan agreement for project finance^*1 totaling up to USD900 million (JBIC portion) with Compañía Minera Teck Quebrada Blanca S.A.(CMTQB), a Chilean company, to finance expansion of the Quebrada Blanca copper mine. The loan is being co-financed by Export Development Canada, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) (under the German Untied Loan Guarantee Program provided by Ungebundene Finanzkredite (UfK) ), Export-Import Bank of Korea and several private sector financial institutions (Bank of Montreal, BNP Paribas S.A., ING Bank N.V., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation). The total co-financing amount is USD 2,500 million.
     
2. The purpose of this loan is to provide necessary long-term finance for the development of the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 project located in Tarapaca (Region I), Chile. The project is being undertaken by CMTQB, a company invested in by Teck Resources Limited (Canada), Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Corporation, and Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI of Chile).
     
3. Copper is used extensively for various products, including electric cables, electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles and construction materials. Thus, it is an essential metal for Japanese industries. Its demand is expected to continue rising globally along with increasing demand in infrastructure in emerging countries, especially in China and India, and with increasing sales of hybrid and electric vehicles^*2.
     
4. Since Japan relies solely on imports for copper concentrates, it is an urgent challenge to secure a long-term, stable supply of copper resources. The Strategic Energy Plan (released in July 2018) set the goal of achieving at least 80% self-sufficiency for base metals by 2030. This project supports the additional development of a copper mine in which Japanese companies hold interests and, as such, is in line with the Japanese government's policies.
     
5. As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to actively support Japanese companies' development and procurement of minerals and other natural resources and provide financing to ensure a stable mineral resources supply to Japan by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects and performing its risk-assuming function.
     

Note

1. *1 
    Project finance is a financing scheme in which repayments for a loan are made (solely) from the cash flows generated by the project.
2. *2 
   Hybrid and electric vehicles typically require two to three times more copper than conventional vehicles.