It is the largest copper theft since a spate of gangster heists in northern Chile last October forced the government to tighten security on trains carrying copper cathodes.

Alcoa has reverted to using gas to fuel the powerhouse boilers at its partially owned Kwinana and Pinjarra alumina refineries.

Maaden owns 75% and Alcoa holds 25% of the massive aluminum complex in Saudi Arabia.

For the year, the Mexico-focused silver miner outputted a record 10.3 million oz.

Total gold production was 476,329 oz. for the year, exceeding the high end of the company's 2022 guidance of 460,000 oz.

"I don’t think anywhere is perfectly safe to invest right now," said Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow.