Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has backed a proposal that would finance post-earthquake reconstruction with revenues from copper mining, Chile's most significant industry. The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Feb. 27 in northern Chile left about $29 billion in damages in its wake; cleanup costs, infrastructure repairs and financial losses are believed to equal 17 percent of GDP. Chile is the world's largest copper producer, with $21 billion in industry earnings in 2009. Lawmakers have proposed a reform to Chile's copper reserve law, which — since the Pinochet era — guaranteed 10 percent of the country's annual copper profits would automatically go to defense spending.
