Sources claim that Jorge Gomez will be named as the new CEO of Chile's Codelco.

Sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed that Codelco, the embattled Chilean state copper giant, is set to appoint Jorge Gomez as its new CEO this Wednesday. The 'company will continue to deal with the fallout from a scandal over inflated production numbers. Gomez has been the head of one of the largest copper mines in the world, Collahuasi, since 2012. He will replace the current CEO Ruben Alvarado.

Alvarado was scheduled to appear before Congress on Wednesday but cancelled, according to legislative sources.

Before joining Collahuasi in 2008, Gomez was a senior executive at Codelco and in charge of the mines located in central Chile.

Gomez or Codelco didn't immediately reply to a comment request.

The move is part of the far-right president Jose Antonio Kast’s restructuring Codelco. He has been critical of its production and safety problems and promised to set it on a different path. Kast appointed Bernardo Fontaine, an economist, to replace Maximo Pacheco as chairman of Codelco's board in May. He also replaced two other board members.

In announcing the changes, Kast's Mining Minister Daniel Mas said that the new board members would be given a "special mission" to conduct an external audit and investigate recent production problems. After an internal audit of the incorrect reporting of 2025 production numbers, a Codelco executive was fired and disciplinary actions were taken against other employees.

First reported in?March on doubts regarding Codelco's December output spikes.

(source: Reuters)