Copper production in 2019 in Chile, the world鈥檚 no. 1 producer of the metal, compared to 2018, amid a perfect storm of falling ore grades at the largest deposits, water scarcity and operational issues.
Cochilco, the country鈥檚 copper commission, said Codelco, the state-owned giant, was the miner most affected by aging mines as its production declined by 5.6% in 2019 by about 100,000 tonnes. The impact of such a fall at a national level was offset by results at other mines, such as Barrick鈥檚 Zald铆var, Lundin鈥檚 Candelaria and Antofagasta鈥檚 Centinela.
Codelco contributed the most to the fall, producing 44,000 tonnes less than in 2018, as it grapples with falling grades at its aging mines
Overall, the world鈥檚 largest copper producer churned out 1.7 million tonnes of copper, the lowest level since 2008, when it generated only 1.55 million tonnes. At that time, the giant Ministro Hales mine, which contributes between 180,000 and 200,000 tonnes of copper a year, had not yet begun operations.
Another mine that experienced a sharp drop in production was BHP鈥檚 Escondida,聽the world鈥檚 largest copper mine, which ended 2019 with a production of 1.18 million tonnes, or 4.4% less than in 2018.聽聽
The biggest output increase, in turn, was registered at Antofagasta鈥檚 Centinela mine, which churned out 25.8% more copper than in 2018. 聽
Codelco, which hands over all of its profits to the state, is in the midst of an ambitious,聽聽to open new projects and overhaul older mines.