https://www.miningweekly.com
Asia|Chile|China|Copper|Copper Smelting|Electric Vehicles|Mining|Cochilco
|||
asia|chile|china|copper|copper-smelting|electric-vehicles|mining|cochilco

Chile should improve copper smelters before building more, Cochilco says

Copper smelting

Copper smelting

Photo by Bloomberg

8th September 2026

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

SANTIAGO - Chile should improve the performance of its existing copper smelters before building new ones, State copper commission Cochilco said on Monday, as global competition for copper concentrate intensifies.

Chile has Latin America's largest smelting capacity, but its plants are operating at about 60% of potential output, Cochilco said.

Smelters process copper concentrate, a material produced by mines, into refined metal used in power grids, electric vehicles and other products.

Global concentrate supplies have tightened because of lower ore grades, mine delays and operational disruptions, while new smelters have raised demand. This has driven processing fees - known as treatment and refining charges - close to zero or into negative territory, squeezing smelter profits.

Chile's share of global smelted copper production fell to 4.2% in 2025 from 13.3% in 1990, even as it produced about 23% of the world's copper concentrate last year.

About two-thirds of Chile's concentrate exports go to China, the world's largest copper-processing market, leaving Chile exposed to changes in Chinese demand and policy.

Cochilco said planned smelters, mainly in Asia, could add 8.2-million metric tons of annual processing capacity by 2041, increasing competition for concentrate.

Chile should only pursue new projects once existing plants are operating reliably and at higher capacity, it said.

Edited by Reuters

Article Enquiry

Email Article

Save Article

Feedback

To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Showroom

Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD
Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD

For over 30 years, Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD has been designing, manufacturing, supplying and maintaining specialist...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
The Beneficiation Academy
The Beneficiation Academy

The Beneficiation Academy is a certified training institution that follows all compliance legislation and is accredited with various Sector...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

ARM CEO Phillip Tobias.
ARM headline earnings up 19%, dividend declared
4th September 2026 By: Martin Creamer

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.03 0.052s - 138pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now