SANTIAGO – Chilean State copper giant Codelco saw its production of the red metal plunge in December, while other top mines in Chile also saw output drop off, government figures released on Tuesday showed.
The national copper commission Cochilco said that output at Codelco, the world's largest copper miner, fell 16% year-on-year to 157 800 tonnes for the month. Total 2020 production for the miner inched up 1.2% over the previous year.
Escondida - the largest copper deposit in the world controlled by BHP - fell 0.7% year-on-year to 104 900 tons. Production in 2020 remained flat with the previous year.
Collahuasi - a partnership between Glencore and Anglo American with Japanese firms - posted a 22% year-on-year decrease in production to 44 200 tons in December. Overall 2020 production jumped 11.3% versus 2019, the statistics show.