Marcin Chludziński shared the news in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio, while also saying the group was considering investment in green power, including "small-size nuclear reactors."
KGHM, one of the world's largest copper and silver producers, last week announced its best financial results in a decade.
Despite the pandemic, the group said it posted a net profit of PLN 3.7 billion (around EUR 800 million, USD 950 million) in the first half of 2021, a more than fivefold increase on the year before.
KGHM's adjusted EBITDA totalled PLN 2.7 billion in the second quarter of the year, up from PLN 2.6 billion in Q1 2021 and PLN 1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2020, the bankier.pl website reported.
'Streams of money' from Chile
"We have decided to restore the value of the Sierra Gorda facility and improve its performance," Chludziński said on Sunday.
"As it turns out, money can flow to Poland," he added.
After many years of restructuring and losses, "we are profiting from this venture," Chludziński also said.
"This is a different Sierra Gorda now, no longer a burden for us," he stated.
He told Polish Radio that KGHM earned PLN 476 million from its Chilean mine in the first half of this year.
"That's not the end yet," he stressed. "We are planning further streams of money from Sierra Gorda to Poland."
Green power
Chludziński also said KGHM was investing in green power and considering fresh sources of energy, such as atomic reactors.
"We are thinking about hydrogen, we are thinking about small-scale nuclear reactors, and we are looking into offshore solutions," he said.
In the next five to 10 years, small-size nuclear reactors are set to become widely available and will be used in manufacturing, Chludziński predicted.
He also said that around 40 percent of the energy supplied to the Sierra Gorda mine already came from photovoltaics.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, bankier.pl