Freeport's local director says that the delay in mining permits is a serious issue.

The U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan's local director said that the extended delay in Chile in enacting the reforms aimed at expediting the mining permits is a "serious problem" for the industry.

The miners of Chile also claim that regulatory obstacles are slowing down project development.

The government of President Gabriel Boric is pushing reforms that will streamline mining permits and modify environmental assessments. Legislators are currently discussing the reforms.

At a seminar in Santiago organized by EY, Cesco and Freeport, Mario Larenas said, "The issue of permits" is serious.

He said that the legislation was "perfectible" but also "on the right path", and regretted the delays in the legislative process.

The original plan was to finish them by the end the year, but that will not happen.

Freeport is one of the world's largest producers of gold, base metals, and especially copper and molybdenum. It has projects in Indonesia, Peru, Chile, and the United States.

The company intends to invest $7.5billion to expand the open-pit El Abra Copper Mine by 2025. This is subject to an environmental permit.

Codelco, the state-owned copper company in Chile, is the project's minor partner. (Reporting and editing by David Alire Garcia, Marguerita Choy, and Fabian Andres Cambero)

(source: Reuters)