SANTIAGO, April 17 (Reuters) - Chilean President Gabriel

Boric told a major copper industry conference on Wednesday he

expects production at state-run miner Codelco to grow slowly

this year and reach 1.7 million metric tons by 2030, and that

he sees copper prices rising.

"The Codelco production will rebound," he said, offering a

vote of confidence for the country's top copper producer whose

output last year hit a quarter-century low, at 1.325 million

metric tons.

Boric's comments came in a surprise appearance at a

gathering of top global copper executives and analysts at CESCO

Week, which alongside the CRU World Copper Conference, makes up

the biggest annual gathering of sector professionals.

At a time when global companies have raised concern about

long approval times for new mines and expansions, he said Chile,

the world's biggest copper producer, is dedicated to speeding up

the permitting process for mining projects.

He also stressed the need for greater economic distribution

of mining industry profits to local communities.

As well, Boric said one of Chile's strong suits was ensuring

long-term security for investors.

"Long term mining projects work when there is greater

certainty, when there are clear rules for all," he said.

"Investments are also based on the perception of trust. And that

is something intangible."

When Boric said he believed this attitude should underscore

Chilean policy no matter who is president, the room of nearly

2,000 attendees burst into applause.

He said Canada-based Teck Resources' ( TECK ) CEO Jonathan

Price had remarked in a recent meeting that the company might

not have invested in copper mine Quebrada Blanca if it had known

it would have taken 10 years to get off the ground, but he was

proud of the project.

The mine's expansion last year was among the biggest mining

investments in Chile in a decade.

Boric also talked about the government's efforts to boost

lithium production, praising the benefits of public-private

partnerships at a time when Codelco is tasked with spearheading

such partnerships in Chile's lithium industry.

A process meant to encourage private investment in lithium

kicked off just this week, he said, adding that he expected

output of the ultralight metal to double in a decade.